In
an extensive field study of 10,000 square miles of sea floor near the
East Siberian Arctic shelf, researchers from the Russian Academy of
Sciences measured the number and size of plumes or fountains of methane
bubbling to the surface from the sea bed.
To their surprise,
they found over 100 plumes, with some whose size exceeded one kilometer
in diameter, representing a massive increase compared to visits a decade
earlier when they had been less than 100 meters wide.
Scientists
have already been expressing concern for the hundreds of millions of
tons of methane locked in frozen permafrost beneath the Arctic, which
could cause runaway global warming once a certain amount melts and is
released into the atmosphere.
Lead author Dr. Igor Semiletov of
the Far Eastern branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences said he had
never witnessed methane being released on such a scale or with such
force before, saying that the gas being measured was not only going
directly into the atmosphere, it was doing so at concentrations 100
times higher than normal.
In appreciation for your work, Dr.
Semiltov, we join in deep concern for these findings. May we step
together in rapid efforts to restore planetary balance through humane
and sustainable lifestyles.
During a December 2010 press
conference in Cancún, Mexico, Supreme Master Ching Hai mentioned the
dangerous methane gas release from the Arctic as being just part of the
reason why a faster solution is needed to stop rising temperatures.
Supreme Master Ching Hai :
Potent methane gas, once frozen beneath the Earth, has become a ticking
time bomb due to rising temperatures in the Arctic and is now set to
trigger runaway climate change.
We are living the worst-case
scenario and the scientists are crying out for us to hit the emergency
brake now, and hard. Scientists are now saying that we must take
advantage of shorter-lived emissions like methane, which heats the
atmosphere 100 times more than CO2 but disappears quickly, in 9 or 12
years, and black carbon (or soot), which generates 4,470 times more
warming potential than CO2, but disappears within a few weeks.
So
it’s the emergency brake that we need, and the place to start is the
livestock industry. Because the livestock industry, animal raising,
generates the largest human-made source of methane.
It is also a
very large source of black carbon, or soot, and accounts for at least
51% of all greenhouse gas emissions that heat up our planet. So if we
stop the livestock industry, then we will stop global warming – fast and
simple.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/environment/arctic-ice-retreat-frees-deadly-methane-gas-16090240.html
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10773020
Extra News
A
report dated December 14, 2011 reveals that water level on the River
Danube in Europe continue to diminish due to the persistent drought in
Southern and Eastern part of the continent,creating further
transportation difficulties and impacting the generation of electricity
from hydropower.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204026804577100302969404354.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-14/europe-s-clogged-arteries-drive-up-costs-and-uncover-old-bombs.html
http://www.agi.it/english-version/world/elenco-notizie/201112161458-cro-ren1051-alarm_over_dry_danube_barges_stuck_turbines_slow
News 
Dec. 23, 2011
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