GLOBAL MELTDOWN
The catalogue of disasters that are happening right now
Across the planet, rising temperatures are taking their toll
CARBON DIOXIDE
New research has found that levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere - the main cause of global warming - are higher than at any time in the past 625,000 years. HOTTEST EVER
This year is expected to be the warmest ever recorded; 1998 was the hottest so far, but the past three years currently occupy the next three places.
DESERTIFICATION
The giant Kalahari desert, already four times the size of Britain, threatens to become larger still, covering farmland in Namibia, Botswana and South Africa.
EXPANDING OCEANS
The level of the world's seas and oceans is rising twice as fast as in the past, as their waters expand in rising temperatures and glaciers melt.
OCEAN EXILES
The people of the Carteret Islands, a scattering of atolls off Papua New Guinea in the South Pacific, have started to leave as their homes succumb to rising seas.
HURRICANES
Hurricane Epsilon - the 14th of the year - is forming in the Atlantic, even though the worst recorded hurricane season by far formally ended on Wednesday.
GLACIER MELT
Greenland glaciers have suddenly started racing towards the sea and melting. Much the same is beginning to happen to glaciers in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.
WATER SHORTAGE
Areas such as the western USA, which depend on mountain snows for their water supplies, are running short as less snow falls - and what does fall melts earlier.
DISAPPEARING SPECIES
Sealife and birdlife have declined catastrophically this year along America's north-west Pacific coast, after a similar meltdown in the North Sea.
CORAL REEFS
Corals on the Great Barrier Reef are bleaching out and dying as sea temperatures rise and scientists fear that the whole reef may perish by 2050.
Also in this section
"The Earth Flag is my symbol of the task before us all.
We are the custodians of the future of the Earth.
Unless we check the rapacious exploitations of our Earth and protect it,
we have endangered the future of our children and our children's children.
It reminds us how helpless this planet is - something that we must hold in our arms and care for."
-Margaret Mead, March 1977
I THEREFORE PLEDGE to live, work and act in a loving, respectful way towards this Earth that I call home, and towards all who live upon it, every insect, animal, fish, bird, plant, human and tree. In honour of this pledge, I commit myself to the following :
TO LIVE simply, resisting the urge to overpurchase and avoiding the purchase of things the production of which I know to have involved social or environmental harm.
TO EAT wholesome food produced locally by organic methods, and to minimize my consumption of food which I know to have involved cruelty to animals or other environmental harm.
TO CONDUCT myself in a harmonious, peaceable manner, avoiding selfish or arrogant behaviour, giving love and kindness to those around me.
TO TRAVEL where possible by foot, skate, bike, transit, train or carpool, and to minimize my use of the automobile, reducing my contribution to global warming, air pollution, stress and danger.
TO WORK at an activity which brings me fulfilment, and which contributes to the increased wellbeing and harmony of the Earth, and its many people, plants and creatures.
TO INVEST my savings in a socially responsible manner, supporting projects and businesses which seek to benefit nature and humanity, minimizing their physical impact on the Earth.
TO AVOID the use of chemical drugs, pesticides, fertilizers or cleaning products which I suspect to be harmful to human, animal or plant life, and to use instead natural alternatives which have been created for this purpose.
TO STUDY the details of issues or topics that attract me, so that I can act in a useful, well-informed manner and make a valuable contribution in my chosen field.
TO EXPLORE the realities of people, species and ecosystems outside this country, that I may better understand the hopes and difficulties of those with whom I share the Earth.
TO PROTEST those activities which I consider to be harmful to the present or future wellbeing of the Earth, and its many people, plants and creatures.
TO SUPPORT those whom I consider to be working in a worthy and committed way for the future wellbeing of the Earth, and its many people, plants and creatures.
TO JOIN with others who are working for similar goals, so that I can contribute my gifts, enjoy the gifts that come with fellowship, and fulfill the dream of the Earth.
SIGNED : __________________________ WITNESSED : ________________
NAME : ____________________________ DATE : ____________________
"........something that we must hold in our arms and care for."
from: Earthfuture : Stories from a Sustainable World, by Guy Dauncey
If you wish to make your pledge of honour known, we invite you to follow the link and add your name. I Therefore Pledge ...
Threads: Sustainability