The Most Important Solution To Global

To all concerned citizens,



In the run up to the Copenhagen climate change conference, it is vital the following information be disseminated to the public as well as to our political leaders.



A widely cited 2006 report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Livestock's Long Shadow, estimates that 18 percent of annual worldwide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are attributable to livestock….however recent analysis by Goodland and Anhang co-authors of "Livestock and Climate Change" in the latest issue of World Watch magazine found that livestock and their byproducts actually account for at least 32.6 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year, or 51 percent of annual worldwide GHG emissions!

http://www.worldwatch.org/files/pdf/Livestock%20and%20Climate%20Change.pdf

Based on their research, Goodland and Anhang conclude that replacing livestock products with soy-based and other alternatives would be the best strategy for reversing climate change. They say "This approach would have far more rapid effects on GHG emissions and their atmospheric concentrations-and thus on the rate the climate is warming-than actions to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy."



The fact is that we are being informed of the dangerous path we are on by depending greatly on animal flesh for human consumption.

The information has been provided to us, therefore citizens like you and I, need to take the lead moving in the direction necessary so that those in power, governments and other unaware individuals realize that we are currently facing a planetary crisis .



We still have the opportunity to make the most effective steps in saving ourselves an this planet. By simply choosing a plant based diet as well as changing light bulbs, shutting off lights , riding bicycles and recycling we can reduce our carbon foot print by a huge amount.

We are gambling with our lives and with those of our future generations to come. It's madness to know we are fully aware of the possible consequences but yet are failing to act. Climate change is not an issue for a community or of one nation, it is the challenge that humanity and all life on this planet faces.

Please make a truly environmental, healthy and compassionate choice, choose to drastically reduce your meat intake or simply go vegetarian or vegan.

Thank you for your consideration.

Yours Sincerely

Society for the Advancement of Animal Wellbeing

www.SAAWinternational.org

Where's the beef?

Click on the image below for full size view:

Methane Emissions from livestock 51% of GHG emissions

Saturday, October 24, 2009
11:39 PM


 
In the run up to the Copenhagen climate change conference, it is vital the following information be disseminated to the public as well as to our political leaders.
 
A widely cited 2006 report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Livestock's Long Shadow, estimates that 18 percent of annual worldwide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are attributable to livestock….however recent analysis by Goodland and Anhang co-authors of "Livestock and Climate Change" in the latest issue of World Watch magazine found that livestock and their byproducts actually account for at least 32.6 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year, or 51 percent of annual worldwide GHG emissions!
 
http://www.worldwatch.org/files/pdf/Livestock%20and%20Climate%20Change.pdf
 
Based on their research, Goodland and Anhang conclude that replacing livestock products with soy-based and other alternatives would be the best strategy for reversing climate change. They say "This approach would have far more rapid effects on GHG emissions and their atmospheric concentrations-and thus on the rate the climate is warming-than actions to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy."
 
The fact is that we are being informed of the dangerous path we are on by depending greatly on animal flesh for human consumption.
The information has been provided to us, therefore citizens like you and I, need to take the lead moving in the direction necessary so that those in power, governments and other unaware individuals realize that we are currently facing a planetary crisis .
 
We still have the opportunity to make the most effective steps in saving ourselves an this planet. By simply choosing a plant based diet as well as changing light bulbs, shutting off lights , riding bicycles and recycling we can reduce our carbon foot print by a huge amount.  
 
We are gambling with our lives and with those of our future generations to come. It's madness to know we are fully aware of the possible consequences but yet are failing to act. Climate change is not an issue for a community or of one nation, it is the challenge that humanity and all life on this planet faces.
 
Please make a truly environmental, healthy and compassionate choice, choose to drastically reduce your meat intake or simply go vegetarian or vegan.
 
 
Society for the Advancement of Animal Wellbeing
www.SAAWinternational.org

 

Taipei350

As part of a global movement called 350.org a march has been organized to call upon the Taiwan government to do something about global warming and climate change.

The march will take place:
WHEN: Saturday the 24th of October from 4-5pm.
WHERE: South entrance of building A8 of the Mitsukoshi department store.(Less than a 5 minute walk from Taipei City Hall MRT station.)

Please take a minute to watch this video made by the organizers of Taipei350. By the way 350 ppm is the safe limit of CO2 in the air, we are already way past that number!



Learn more at:
http://350taipei.blogspot.com/
http://www.350.org/

Finished? Bluefins In Trouble

martin hickman LONDON, 5 SEPT: The last chance to save one of the most majestic fish in the sea is on the verge of collapse because of political jockeying in Europe. A proposal to ban the sale of bluefin tuna is being fiercely opposed by Malta, the capital of the lucrative global business, and by its representative in Brussels, the fisheries commissioner, Mr Joe Borg. Spain and Italy are also believed to be resisting the move, which would end exports to Japan for sushi. Conservationists fear...

SupremeMasterTV.com

Animal Rights Group Accusing IA Company of Grinding Up Live Chicks

September 2, 2009 at 1:18pm

Across the border: An animal rights group is accusing an Iowa company of grinding up live male chicks. A warning: the video you're about to see may be unsettling to some of our viewers. Undercover video released Tuesday by Mercy for Animals shows live male chicks being fed into a grinder at a hatchery in Spencer, Iowa. The owners of the hatchery Hy - Line International say that the video appears to show an inappropriate action and violation of our animal welfare policies. But a company spokesperson would not specify exactly what the violations are. The company says they are investigating the situation and will discipline employees if any violations are found. We'll have much more on this story tonight at six.

SupremeMasterTV.com

Bureau of Land Management on Rampage to Destroy Famous Wild Horse Herd

August 10, 2009

Cloud and the wild horses of Montana’s Pryor Mountains are world famous but fame it appears is not going to protect the herd from a drastic government round up planned to begin September 1st in their spectacular wilderness home.

There are currently only 190 wild horses (one year and older) living in the Pryor Mountains. The BLM plans to remove 70 of them, plus foals. According to the foremost equine geneticist, Dr. Gus Cothran, 150-200 adult horses are needed in the herd to ensure their genetic diversity, which is vital to their long term survival.

These 70 horses would be placed in jeopardy. Any horses over 10 years of age can be bought directly by killer buyers and transported over the Northern border to Canadian slaughterhouses or south into Mexico. Younger horses not adopted would be put into government holding with 33,000 others that the BLM has removed from the wild and has proposed killing because they can no longer afford to feed them.

BLM cites poor range condition as the reason to remove the horses but abundant snow and rain for the past two and a half years has produced wonderful range conditions according to all who have visited Cloud and his herd. The Agency is not listening to anyone. They want this herd gutted. Nearly all the mares returned to the range would be given an experimental two-year infertility drug, PZP-22.

SupremeMasterTV.com

Chile confirms swine flu in turkeys

By Federico Quilodran

Associated Press

POSTED: 12:54 p.m. EDT, Aug 21, 2009

SANTIAGO, CHILE: Chile said today that tests show swine flu has jumped to birds, opening a new chapter in the global epidemic.

A top United Nations animal health expert said the infected turkeys have suffered only mild effects, easing concern about a potentially dangerous development. Chile's turkey meat remains safe to eat, the expert said.

Chile's health ministry said it ordered a quarantine today for two turkey farms outside the port city of Valparaiso after genetic tests confirmed sick birds were afflicted with the same virus that has caused a pandemic among humans.

So far, the virus — a mixture of human, pig and bird genes — has proven to be very contagious but no more deadly than common seasonal flu. However, virus experts fear a more dangerous and easily transmitted strain could emerge if it combines again with avian flu, which is far more deadly but tougher to pass along.

The farms' owner, Sopraval SA, alerted the agriculture ministry after egg production dropped at the farms this month. After initial tests on four samples, further genetic testing confirmed a match with the subtype A/H1N1 2009, the agriculture and health ministries announced.

''What the turkeys have is the human virus — there is no mutation at all,'' Deputy Health Minister Jeannette Vega told Chile's Radio Cooperativa today.

The Health Ministry said it ordered a complete quarantine today and alerted the U.N.'s World Health Organization. The U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization, meanwhile was working closely with Chilean government scientists, said Dr. Juan Lubroth, the head of infectious diseases for FAO in Rome.

Chile is sending some samples outside the country for more genetic sequencing to confirm that it matches the pandemic strain, Lubroth said. ''As a scientist, I want to touch, smell, feel, taste it'' before agreeing that it's a match, he said.

There are some encouraging signs that this particular outbreak remains mild. Egg production and water consumption among the birds dropped — prompting the company to take action — but the birds aren't terribly sick, let alone dying in large numbers, Lubroth said.

''My understanding is that with the ones that were sick, it was a very mild disease,'' Lubroth said. ''It's significant in that we don't need to recommend any drastic measures, as far as culling the population of turkeys. Let them go through their illness and recover — 7 to 10 days — and if they are sound and healthy, they could enter the food chain.''

Sopraval veterinarian Andrea Campos said that won't happen because the outbreak has been limited to birds raised to lay eggs, not those being fattened for meat.

''In all of the birds raised to be fattened to produce meat, we have not found any illness. This is an illness entirely limited within a reproductive group,'' Campos said.

Lubroth praised the company and the Chilean ministries for the actions they've taken.

''If it were highly virulent then we would recommend stronger measures,'' Lubroth added.

Chile, meanwhile, is acting to contain the outbreak by limiting the turkeys' contact with people and wildlife, Lubroth said. But given the mildness of this particular outbreak, he said ''I don't see that there is going to be a large risk from what we know today of this type of transmission occurring.''

The virus has infected at least 12,000 people in Chile and is responsible for 128 confirmed deaths.

SupremeMasterTV.com

Pesky Camels Will Be Shot From Helicopters

Thousands of camels will be shot from helicopters and turned into burgers in a bid to halt their trail of havoc across Australia.
Marksmen plan to gun the animals down amid concern the thirsty dromedaries are barging into people's homes and ripping up their bathrooms looking for water.
Government officials plan to wipe out 650,000 of the feral population in the remote Outback area of the country.
The creatures were first introduced to Australia in the 1840s to help explorers travel through the Australian desert.
There are now about one million camels roaming the country.
They compete with sheep and cattle for food, trample vegetation and invade remote settlements in search of water.
On a number of occasions they have scared residents - tearing apart bathrooms and ripping up water pipes.
Last month, the federal government set aside £9.5m for the cull.
Besides sending in sharpshooters in helicopters and on foot, officials are planning to turn many of the creatures into camel burgers and other treats.
Glenn Edwards, who is working on drafting the government's camel reduction program, said the camel population needs to be slashed by two-thirds to reduce catastrophic damage.

But some remain opposed to a mass slaughter.
Camel exporter Paddy McHugh, who runs camel catching operations throughout Australia, said a cull would be ineffective.
"What happens in 15 years when the numbers come back again? Do we waste another £9.5m," McHugh said.
But Tony Peacock, CEO of the University of Canberra's Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Center, said: "To be shot from a helicopter is actually quite humane, even though that sounds brutal."
"If I was a camel, I'd prefer to just get it in the head."

SupremeMasterTV.com

Man is constantly betraying his best friend

350 dogs seized in dogfighting raids in 5 states By CHERYL WITTENAUER ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER ST. LOUIS -- As many as 350 dogs were seized and about 30 people arrested during raids in five states Wednesday that animal welfare groups are calling the largest simultaneous raid of dog fighting operations in the

U.S. After 36,000 Dogs Killed, A New Animal Rights Law In China, after problems with rabies in stray dogs, dog beating teams patrolled the streets, killing an estimated 36,000 dogs -- including some pets. Animal rights advocates hope that a new law will put an end to this form of animal cruelty. Read more… http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/07/watch-after-36000-dogs-ki_n_227064.html

SupremeMasterTV.com

Sad Truth of Puppy Mills

Canisius adds animal behavior major

Monday, August 3, 2009,

Canisius College will offer a degree in animal behavior, ecology and conservation starting this fall.
The program will be based on lectures and hands-on learning experiences in required and elective courses. It will be directed by biology professor Michael Noonan.
Students will learn about the science of animal behavior, with an understanding in the "ethical and moral considerations" of animal behavior disciplines, the college says.
"It is for students who want to thoroughly understand the facts and theoretical underpinning of animal behavior and who also want to use that understanding to promote animal welfare and wildlife conservation," Noon said in a statement.
The program is part of the college's Institute for the Study of Human-Animal Relationships, one of three institutes established by Canisius officials in the past 12 months.

Report: California must adapt to changing climate

By SAMANTHA YOUNG, AP
Even if the world is successful in cutting carbon emissions in the future, California needs to start preparing for rising sea levels, hotter weather and other effects of climate change, a new state report recommends.
It encourages local communities to rethink future development in low-lying coastal areas, reinforce levees that protect flood-prone areas and conserve already strapped water supplies.
"We still have to adapt, no matter what we do, because of the nature of the greenhouse gases," said Tony Brunello, deputy secretary for climate change and energy at the California Natural Resources Agency, who helped prepare the report. "Those gases are still going to be in the atmosphere for the next 100 years."
The draft report to be released Monday by the California Natural Resources Agency provides the state's first comprehensive plan to work with local governments, universities and residents to deal with a changing climate. A final plan is expected to be released in the fall after the public weighs in.
The report was compiled after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger directed agencies in November to devise a state climate strategy. It comes three years after the Republican governor signed California's landmark global warming law requiring the state to slash greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.
Most countries have focused on cutting greenhouse gases in the future, but researchers say those efforts will take decades to have an effect while the planet continues to warm. States have only recently begun to look at what steps they must take to minimize the damage expected from sea level rise, storm surges, droughts and water shortages because of the climate changes.
Over the last century in California, the sea level has risen by 7 inches, average temperatures have increased, spring snowmelt occurs earlier in the year, and there are hotter days and fewer cold nights.
The report warns that rising temperatures over the next few decades will lead to more heat waves, wildfires, droughts and floods.
"We have to deal with those unavoidable impacts," said Suzanne Moser, a research associate at the Institute of Marine Sciences at the University of California Santa Cruz. "We can't pretend they are not going to happen and we have to prepare for that."
To minimize the potential damage from climate change, the report recommends that cities and counties offer incentives to encourage property owners in high-risk areas to relocate and limit future development in places that might be affected by flooding, coastal erosion and sea level rise. State agencies also should not plan, permit, develop or build any structure that might require protection in the future.
The report suggests the state partner with local governments and private landowners to create large reserves that protect wildlife threatened by warmer weather. Similarly, wetlands and fish corridors should be established to protect salmon and other fragile fish.
The report says farmers should be encouraged to be more efficient when watering their crops, and investments should be made to improve crop resistance to hotter temperatures.

British retail giant bans Aussie wool

A US-based animal rights group has stepped up its fight against defiant Australian farmers, recruiting British clothing giant Next Retail Ltd to join a boycott of Australian wool from mulesed sheep.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), which has led the global campaign against Australian farmers who use the controversial mulesing technique on sheep, applauded Next's decision "to source wool from outside Australia or from Australian sources which guarantee that mulesing with shears or clips has ceased".
Next, with annual sales of $US5 billion ($A5.94 billion) a year, follows global retailers Hugo Boss, Adidas, Abercrombie & Fitch, Timberland, H&M, American Eagle, Liz Claiborne and Perry Ellis International in boycotting wool from Australian mulesed sheep.
Last month, Australian wool body Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) and the NSW Farmers Association announced they were walking away from a 2010 deadline to phase out mulesing.
Next believes that the continuation of mulesing beyond the 2010 deadline previously self-imposed by the Australian sheep industry is unacceptable," Next announced in a statement.
PETA and Australian wool farmers have been locked in a battle for more than five years over mulesing.
Mulesing is a technique used by farmers where skin is removed from the rear end of the sheep to prevent maggot infestation that can lead to the animal's death.
PETA claims mulesing is cruel and has lobbied for more humane methods.
Clip mulesing, an alternative method supported by AWI, was rejected by PETA and some major retailers.
"For (autumn-winter 2009) production onwards Next has put in place a preference for non-mulesed, including non-clip-mulesed wool," Next announced.
"Due to the practice of mulesing, including clip-mulesing in Australia, this preference is leading us to source wool from outside Australia or from Australian sources which guarantee that mulesing with shears or clips has ceased."

New law bans animals in the ring

La Paz - Bolivia has enacted what animal rights defenders are calling the world's first law that prohibits the use of animals in circuses.

A handful of other countries have banned the use of wild animals in circuses, but the Bolivian ban includes domestic animals as well.

The law, which states that the use of animals in circuses "constitutes an act of cruelty", took effect on July 1 and operators have a year to comply, according to the bill's sponsor, Representative Ximena Flores.

read more http://article.wn.com/view/2009/07/31/New_law_bans_animals_in_the_ring/

Whale-watching 'worth billions' Tuesday, 23 June

SupremeMasterTV.com

Whale watching generates far more money than whale hunting, according to a report released at the International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting here.
Worldwide, the industry now generates about $2.1bn per year, it says.
The group commissioning the report, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (Ifaw), says whaling countries would gain from a switch to whale watching.
However, Iceland's delegate here said the two industries were compatible and could grow together.
Iceland recently announced a major expansion of its fin whale hunt and plans to take 150 of the animals this year, along with up to 100 minke whales.
"As governments sit here [at the IWC] debating what to do about whaling, their people are showing the way," said Patrick Ramage, director of Ifaw's whale programme.
"Whale watching is clearly more environmentally sustainable and economically beneficial than hunting, and whales are worth far more alive than dead," he told BBC News.
The report follows on the heels of an analysis commissioned by another organisation opposed to whaling, WWF, which suggested that the Japanese and Norwegian hunts were a net cost to their governments.
Double digit
The Ifaw-commissioned report, compiled by the Australian organisation Economists at Large, found that income from whale watching had doubled over the last decade, with the fastest growth seen in Asia.

Read more at ….http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8114353.stm

Himalayan glaciers have shrunk by 38% in 40 years

19 Jul 2009, 1130 hrs IST, Nitin Sethi, TNN
Himalayan glaciers have shrunk by 38% in 40 years

NEW DELHI: Himalayan glaciers are going through a phase of retreat, with some glaciers in specific basins having shrunk by up to an alarming 38%
in 40 years while at the same time satellite mapping has not shown any accleration of the process even as the rate of Gangotri's shrinkage has slowed.

The overall process of shrinking is leading glaciers to fragment and, therefore, paradoxically enough, the total number of glaciers in the Himalayas is increasing. These were some of the conclusions ISRO scientists drew up during a presentation at a meeting, organised by the ministry of environment, of all institutions and experts in glaciology.

The ministry has decided to support ISRO and the department of science and technology to undertake long-term and extensive glacial surveys across the eastern and western Himalayas. Environment and forests minister Jairam Ramesh told TOI, "We will institutionalize scientific studies of not only glaciers but also studies on terrestrial hydrology and agriculture as well as measurement of green house gases along with the department of science and technology and ISRO."

Scientists at the meeting recorded there is no evidence yet to claim the rate of retreat of glaciers, ranging from a few cms to couple of metres a year, has accelerated in the recent past. Scientists from the Geological Survey of India noted that the rate of recession of the Gangotri glacier has actually reduced in recent years.

The scientific community also observed that the process of retreat and advance of the glaciers was a natural process and that at present there was no evidence to prove that the current glacial recession phase is a consequence of climate change.

But scientists did express concern about the health of the glaciers pointing to the evidence of debris accumulation at the snouts in some glaciers. At present, the worst impact is seen in the Suru basin, with glaciers recorded a 38% shrinkage between 1969 and 2004. The Chandra, Bhaga, Parbati and Warwan basins are the other four recording the worst recessionary trends over the same period.

The meeting also noted that currently most of the automated weather stations are located in Jammu and Kashmir and serve the Army. These should be extended to Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand in order to record data across the Himalayas.

Important petition! 重要請願書!

中文版本請到本網頁下方點選
Dear friends, 
I have just received this very important petition, please take the time to read it and send it on to everyone you know. The more people that sign it, the more persuasive it will be.
 
The goal of the petition is to encourage the Taiwan government to adopt a "meat free Monday" across the nation, in attempt to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prevent further climate change.
 
Even if you're not Taiwanese it is still important as climate change is a global problem and another country adopting a meat free monday may encourage other countries to do the same.
 
Click on the link below to find out more details and sign the petition.
 http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/meat-free-monday-taiwan.html
 
Yours sincerely,
 
Society for the Advancement of Animal Wellbeing
 
 
親愛的朋友们,
 
我剛收到這封非常重要的請願書。 請花一點時間閱讀並轉寄給每一個您認識的人,
越多的人簽署越有說服力。
 
此請願書的目的是要鼓勵政府在全台灣推行星期一無肉日, 以降低溫室氣體排放量及避免進一步氣候變遷。
 
欲知詳情請點擊下列連結, 並於請願書簽名。
 http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/meat-free-monday-taiwan.html
 
你誠摯的
 
Society for the Advancement of Animal Wellbeing

Portsmouth MP signs animal rights petition

SupremeMasterTV.com

Published Date: 08 July 2009
A Portsmouth MP has signed up to what is thought to be the biggest animal rights petition of all time.
Portsmouth South MP Mike Hancock took the petition directly to the prime minister at 10 Downing Street, along with other animal-loving politicians of all parties.

It calls on the government to end experiments on animals.

Animal welfare group Uncaged, which is behind the petition, collected 1.5m signatures in towns and cities across the UK. It comes as the European Union is due to revise European law on animal experiments.

Mr Hancock said: 'It is clear that the British public is very concerned about experiments on animals.

'Increasingly, there are better ways to develop and test the efficacy and safety of medicines.

'Yet we see the opposite – the number of experiments in the UK has been increasing recently to over three million a year. I believe the vast majority of these are unnecessary. The number of experiments on animals and particularly on mammals and primates should be kept to an absolute minimum.

'I hope that this petition and the vast number of signatures that it has attracted will impress on the British government the need to take a strong position in Europe and also towards an end to animal experiments wherever possible.'

Turkey plant worker sentenced for animal cruelty

Turkey plant worker sentenced for animal cruelty

6/29/2009, 3:26 p.m. EDT
The Associated Press
(AP) — LEWISBURG, W.Va. - A worker at a West Virginia turkey plant has been sentenced to a year of home confinement for stomping on a bird's head and slamming another to the ground in abuse caught on video.
Edward Eric Gwinn was also fined $1,000 and ordered to have no contact with domestic animals by a judge in Greenbrier County.
Gwinn and Scott Alvin White were indicted on felony charges in February, but each pleaded guilty to two animal cruelty misdemeanors in April. White was sentenced June 8 to a year in jail but can petition for home confinement. A third man's criminal case is pending.
The men were videotaped last fall by an undercover operative of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals at an Aviagen Turkeys Inc. plant in Lewisburg.

The three men have been fired.

Fish

Canned hunting' of captive lions banned in South Africa

The controversial sport of "canned hunting", in which trophy hunter tourists pay to shoot specially-bred captive lions, has been banned in South Africa.

London, June 13 (ANI): The controversial sport of canned hunting, in which trophy hunter tourists pay to shoot specially bred captive lions, has been banned in South Africa. According to a report in the Telegraph, the South African government welcomed the move, which followed attempts by lion breeders to block the banning of their trade.
The South African government welcomed the move, which followed attempts by lion breeders to block the banning of their trade.
"We need a clean hunting industry, free from unacceptable behaviour which could damage the country's image," said Albi Modise, a spokesman for South Africa's forestry department.
Until its ban, South Africa was one of the world's canned hunting capitals, with more than 1,000 lions killed every year by foreign hunters.
Around 120 lion breeders are active in the country, supplying animals for tourists arriving from across the globe in an industry worth almost £1 million a year.
But government proposals put forward in 2007 threatened to crush the industry by ruling that lions bred in captivity could not be hunted until 24 months after they were released into the wild.
Angry breeders challenged the crackdown in court and argued that the regulations should allow captive animals to be shot within a few days of being released from their breeding cages.

Torturing Pigs

CDC Confirms Ties to Virus First Discovered in U.S. Pig Factories
Factory farming and long-distance live animal transport apparently led to the emergence of the ancestors of the current swine flu threat.

A preliminary analysis of the H1N1 swine flu virus isolated from human cases in California and Texas reveals that six of the eight viral gene segments arose from North American swine flu strains circulating since 1998, when a new strain was first identified on a factory farm in North Carolina.

Save The Human Don’t Eat The Planet

Cruelty to chickens

Battery cage conditions do nothing to deny 'ancestral memory': 'Chickens in Battery cages which have wire floors....can often be seen to go through all the motions of having a dust bath. If such dust-deprived birds are eventually given access to something in which they can have a real dust-bath....they go in for a complete orgy of dust-bathing. They do it over and over again, apparently masking up for lost time...' Through Our Eyes Only, Dr. Maraian Stamp Dawkins, Department of Zoology, Oxford University (WH Freeman, Spektrum, 1993) read more

Experimenting with a life

Growing climate change may escalate ME conflict

JERUSALEM, June 3 (UPI) -- Growing climate change and lack of water could spur further conflict and security concerns in the Middle East, a Danish environmental report warns.
Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Jordan and the occupied Palestinian territories have suffered from more than 60 years of "bloody conflict", the International Institute for Sustainable Development, IISD, report states, noting: " Climate change -- by redrawing maps of water availability, food security, disease prevalence, population distribution and coastal boundaries -- may hold serious implications for regional security," if the situation is left unchecked.
The report lists six main threats the region will be forced to contend with because of the ever changing climate. The scarcity of water resources may complicate any peace efforts. The intensifying of food scarcity could spur "the return or retention of occupied land." Changes in the climate could slow down economic growth and worsen poverty, causing social instability. Climate changes could also lead to increased tensions over refugee populations, and the diminishing of natural resources in the region could increase militarization of strategic natural resources.
Failure to act could encourage further mistrust and resentment by Arab countries toward Israel and the Western world, the report warns.
The 42 page report dubbed "Rising Temperatures, Rising Tensions: Climate Change and the Risk Of Conflict in the Middle East" was published by the IISD, an independent environmental policy research institute.



http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2009/06/03/Growing-climate-change-may-escalate-ME-conflict/UPI-19801244028123/

PLEASE READ

Dear friends,
Please sign the the following petition which will be sent to the 2009 Copenhagen conference and governments across Europe.
The petition asks for the world's leaders to promote a plant based for all citizens in order to save the planet from global warming.
For more details please read the petition at :
Stop eating Meat - and heal our Planet!
http://fleischverbot.info/petition/

Farm Sanctuary Releases Report on “Humane” Meat Labels

Let’s face it, there’s no humane way to slaughter a non-human animal for food. There just isn’t anything remotely humane about eating non-human animals or wearing their skins and furs.
Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of and concerned about the cruel treatment of animals exploited for meat, milk and eggs. In response, animal producers and food retailers are developing programs to market their products in ways that appeal to these growing concerns, using labels like “humane,” “natural,” “cage free” and “organic.” But what do these terms really mean? Taking a closer look at the substance behind these labels, we see that they refer to a wide range of living conditions for animals — and they may not be consistent with what consumers envision.
Farm Sanctuary reviewed information on meat, milk and egg product labels promoted by government agencies, industry associations, retailers, and third-party interest groups that purport to provide some level of enhanced welfare for the animals involved. A critical look shows that while some farm animals housed and handled under the tenets of a “certified” labeling scheme may suffer less than others, the degree to which their welfare has improved is still far from “humane.” And all animals exploited for meat, dairy or egg production – whether factory farmed or otherwise – meet the same cruel end at the slaughterhouse.

Gruesome Facial Tumor Disease Threatens Taz with Extinction

The disease referred to as “a contagious cancer”, Devil Facial Tumor Disease, is decimating the population of Tasmanian Devils, leading experts to predict the extinction of the species in as little as 20 years.
Tasmanian devils have now been put on the Tasmanian endangered species list due to the decimation of the population by up to 70% in recent years. The cause of the die-off is Devil Facial Tumor Disease (DFTD), a disease detected 13 years ago, which is a fatal condition in Tasmanian devils, characterized by cancers around the mouth and head. The animals generally only live for about three months after contracting the disease.

Climate Change Could Displace Millions In Asia's Coral Triangle

ScienceDaily (May 14, 2009) — Coral reefs could disappear entirely from the Coral Triangle region of the Pacific Ocean by the end of the century, threatening the food supply and livelihoods for about 100 million people, according to a new study from World Wildlife Fund.
Averting catastrophe will depend on quick and effective global action on climate change coupled with the implementation of regional solutions to problems of over-fishing and pollution, according to The Coral Triangle and Climate Change: Ecosystems, People and Societies at Risk, a WWF-commissioned study presented at the World Oceans Conference in Manado, Indonesia May 13.
“This area is the planet’s crown jewel of coral diversity and we are watching it disappear before our eyes,” said Catherine Plume, Director of the Coral Triangle Program for WWF-US. “But as this study shows, there are opportunities to prevent this tragedy while sustaining the livelihoods of millions who rely on its riches.”
The report offers two dramatically different scenarios for the Coral Triangle, which is comprised of the coasts, reefs and seas of the countries of Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Timor Leste. The Coral Triangle occupies
Just one percent of the Earth’s surface, but is home to fully 30 percent of the world’s coral reefs, 76 percent of reef-building coral species and more than 35 percent of coral reef fish species. It is also serves as vital spawning grounds for other economically important fish such as tuna.
“In one scenario, we continue along our current climate trajectory and do little to protect coastal environments from the onslaught of local threats,” said Queensland University Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, who led the study. “In this world, people see the biological treasures of the Coral Triangle destroyed over the course of the century by rapid increases in ocean temperature, acidity and sea level, while the resilience of coastal environments also deteriorates under faltering coastal management. Poverty increases, food security plummets, economies suffer and coastal people migrate increasingly to urban areas.”
The report also highlighted opportunities to avoid a worst-case scenario in the region through significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and international investment in strengthening the region’s natural environments, solutions that would help to build a resilient and robust Coral Triangle in which economic growth, food security and natural environments are maintained.
“Climate change in the Coral Triangle is challenging but manageable, and the region would respond well to reductions in local environmental stresses from overfishing, pollution, and declining coastal water quality and health,” Hoegh-Guldberg said.
Even under the best case scenario however, communities in the region can expect to experience dramatic losses of coral, rising sea level, increased storm activity, severe droughts and reduced food availability from coastal fisheries. But effective management of coastal resources would mean the communities would remain reasonably intact and more resilient in the face of such hardships.

Animal Welfare Issues

As farming has become increasingly industrialized, animals raised for food production are treated more like commodities than animals. They are handled as units of production, rather than living, breathing creatures. This mechanized approach ignores animals’ needs, which often sacrifices their health and wellbeing in the name of higher profits. Although there is controversy surrounding the degrees of comfort and freedom that farm animals should have, most people agree that farm animals deserve a minimum standard of cleanliness and space, and that animals should not be made to suffer needlessly. Increasingly, more and more consumers are demanding better treatment of animals.
Much of the problem of animal welfare has to do with the basic structure of industrial farms. Confining animals indoors, as closely together as possible, rather than letting them roam and graze on pasture, exposes the animals to high levels of toxins, which are released when so much manure decomposes in an enclosed space. To counteract the disease inherent in such conditions, animals are given constant doses of antibiotics. Animals are exposed to pesticides and other unhealthy additives through their feed, and are often bred and fed to produce unnatural amounts of eggs, milk or meat.
While many of the techniques utilized on factory farms were developed to make production more profitable, other techniques were implemented to increase efficiency and safety. However, these practices often cause discomfort, pain, and stress to animals, while inhibiting their natural, instinctual behaviors. Though industrial production practices may help “mechanize” the animals by decreasing interference with production, they ultimately create health problems in both animals and humans.

SupremeMasterTV.com

Sea Shepherd news- anti-whaling activists plan to upgrade their fleet

Andrew Darby in Madiera, Portugal
June 26, 2009
JAPAN has asked Australia to prevent the Sea Shepherd ship Steve Irwin leaving port to harass its whalers in the Antarctic next summer, but the plea may have little effect.
The anti-whaling activists plan to upgrade their fleet from an ageing, former North Atlantic fisheries patrol boat to include another ship - something out of the future. The global speedboat Earthrace would head south under Sea Shepherd colours next summer, the group's leader Paul Watson said.
"It looks like a spaceship. It can do 40 knots and dive under waves completely. We'll be using it to intercept and block harpoons."
In 61 days last year Earthrace circled the globe fuelled by biodiesel. The New Zealand owner/skipper, Pete Bethune, said he decided to become involved because "this is happening in my backyard and it really pisses me off. I'm going to make a stand."
He said he was adding half a tonne of Kevlar to the vessel to toughen it against the ice. It had the endurance to go half way round the world on a tank of fuel.
"They won't get away from me," he said.
Earthrace's role was unveiled as the International Whaling Commission heard that Sea Shepherd's protests endangered the lives of whalers in the Southern Ocean last summer when the Steve Irwin was involved in two collisions.
"These are highly dangerous, and it can only be described as a miracle that there has been no death or large-scale accident to date," said a Japanese delegation member, Jun Yamashita.
"We cannot tolerate such audacity," Mr Yamashita told the commission. "We ask for
all appropriate measures, including a ban on the ship from leaving port, so that we can prevent these acts from being repeated."
Mr Watson, who is not permitted inside the meeting, said the Steve Irwin was soon to leave Brisbane for Hobart after a $500,000 refit. Its buckled hull plates had been repaired, and it was fitted with a powerful water cannon on the bow to match the whalers'.
He dubbed next summer's campaign Operation Waltzing Matilda and has adopted a symbol with a kangaroo wearing a pirate's eye patch.
An official from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, David Dutton, told the 71-nation meeting in Madeira that the Rudd Government was deeply concerned about clashes in the Southern Ocean.
Australian Federal Police were conducting an official investigation, so no further comment could be made because it was possible the case would come before a court, he said.
Mr Watson said the federal police had returned videotapes taken from the ship in a raid in Hobart in February but still held the ship's log book. He said he had not been contacted recently by the federal police or Dutch authorities, under whose flag Steve Irwin sails.

Shark Fin Bust

Friday, June 26, 2009
Double Whammy in the Galapagos: Two Busts in Two Days on Two Islands
Shark Fin Bust in Santa Cruz
On the evening of June 25th, 2009, the Ecuadorian Environmental Police, acting on information provided by Sea Shepherd Galapagos, raided a fisherman’s house on Santa Cruz Island. The Environmental Police were supported by the Galapagos National Park Service and the K9 Police Unit.
Thanks to the excellent work of the dogs and their guides, the police quickly found 52 large shark fins inside the house. The dried and fresh fins weighed about 30 pounds. They were cut from Black Tip sharks and Galapagos sharks. Additionally, the police confiscated a substantial amount of illegal fishing gear (hooks, nets, and long lines) used in the illegal shark fishing industry.
Although Ecuadorian law permits sharks to be caught as by-catch near the Ecuadorian mainland, fishing for sharks is absolutely prohibited inside the Galapagos Marine Reserve.
The shark fins have an estimated street value of $10,000.
The suspect is under detention. Sea Shepherd will continue to assist in the case to secure a conviction and proper sentence.

Read more… http://www.seashepherd.org/news-and-media/sea-shepherd-news.html

Swine Flu Ancestor Born on U.S. Factory Farms

At an environmental level, the conditions which shaped H3N2 and H1N2 evolution, and increased the variants’ chances of taking a human-contagious form, are well understood. High-density animal production facilities came to dominate the U.S. pork industry during the late 20th century, and have been adopted around the world. Inside them, pigs are packed so tightly that they cannot turn, and literally stand in their own waste.
Diseases travel rapidly through such immunologically stressed populations, and travel with the animals as they are shuttled throughout the United States between birth and slaughter. That provides ample opportunity for strains to mingle and recombine. An ever-escalating array of industry-developed vaccines confer short-term protection, but at the expense of provoking flu to evolve in unpredictable ways.

The Pew commission concluded that this system created an “increased chance for a strain to emerge that can infect and spread in humans.” Scientists and public health experts have said the same thing for years, in even starker terms.
In 2003, the American Public Health Association called for a ban on contained animal feeding operations. One year later, St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital virologist Richard Webby, one of the original chroniclers of H3N2’s emergence, called the U.S. swine population “an increasingly important reservoir of viruses with human pandemic potential.” United States Department of Agriculture researcher Amy Vincent reportedly said that vaccine-driven evolution

Japan Blames Sea Shepherd, Weather For Falling Short Of Whaling Targets

While not everyone agrees with their tactics, the actions of Sea Shepherd this whaling season caused the Japanese fleet to fall well short of their killing quotas.
Japan’s Fisheries Agency blamed hunt disruptions from Sea Shepherd and inclement weather for resulting in only 679 minke being killed — well below a planned total haul of between 765 and 935 of the giant mammals. While that number killed is depressing, consider this: Japan caught just one fin whale compared with a target of 50. In total, 16 days of hunting were lost.
With the Japanese fleet now returning home, crew members are being questioned over clashes with Sea Shepherd. We’ve all seen the dramatic video footage of both ships colliding — and Paul Watson ended things early as a result of escalataing violence. The question remains: What will the Japanese fleet bring to the table next year? Will they have more high-tech audio weapons? A security detail? Will this year’s events cause Sea Shepherd to be taken out of the equation next year?
Stay tuned — Paul Watson and his crew have promised to be back — and with an even faster boat.

European vote to take sting out of falling bee numbers

Members of the European Parliament (MEPs ) voted on 20 November overwhelmingly in favour of providing ’recovery zones’ in European farmland to help rebuild the region’s declining bee population. The resolution, which was passed by 485 votes to 13, follows fears that European food production could be threatened if there were fewer bees to pollinate crops of fruit and vegetables. So far this year, German bee populations have dropped by a quarter and British beekeepers are expected to lose up to 10% of their colonies this winter.
The population has been endangered by long distance transportation of bees between countries as well as increased use of pesticides, which can weaken the insects’ immune systems. The development of genetically-modified crops and the spread of fungal infections and many viruses also contributed to the decline.
MEPs hope their directive – set up under the Common Agricultural Policy – will spur the EU executive to help to set up patches of farmland planted with pollen and nectar-rich plants to act as ’recovery zones’ for ailing insects. It would also fund research into the parasites and diseases which are harming bee populations, provide financial aid to apiaries with infected colonies, and combat ineffective pollination by banning pesticide treatment while crops are in flower.
Struan Stevenson, the Scottish Conservative MEP said: ”We must invest more into bee research to establish the exact causes of the shrinking bee population so that we can urgently put measures in place to combat the decline.”

Canada , Barbaric Acts of Cruelty

Copenhagen Conference: Rising sea levels set to have major impacts around the world.

Research presented today at the International Scientific Congress on Climate Change in Copenhagen shows that the upper range of sea level rise by 2100 could be in the range of about one meter, or possibly more. In the lower end of the spectrum it looks increasingly unlikely that sea level rise will be much less than 50 cm by 2100. This means that if emissions of greenhouse gases is not reduced quickly and substantially, even the best case scenario will hit low lying coastal areas housing one in ten humans on the planet hard.
Dr John Church of the Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia and the lead speaker in the sea level session, told the conference, "The most recent satellite and ground based observations show that sea-level rise is continuing to rise at 3 mm/yr or more since 1993, a rate well above the 20th century average. The oceans are continuing to warm and expand, the melting of mountain glacier has increased and the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica are also contributing to sea level rise."
New insights reported include the loss of ice from the Antarctic and Greenland Ice Sheets. "The ice loss in Greenland has accelerated over the last decade. The upper range of sea level rise by 2100 might be above 1m or more on a global average, with large regional differences depending where the source of ice loss occurs", says Konrad Steffen, Director of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at the University of Colorado, Boulder and co-chair of the congress session on sea level rise.
The last assessment report from the IPCC from 2007 projected a sea level rise of 18 - 59 centimeter. However the report also clearly stated that not all factors contributing to sea level rise could be calculated at that time. The uncertainty was centered on the ice sheets, how they react to the effects of a warmer climate and how they interact with the oceans, explains Eric Rignot, Professor of Earth System Science at the University of California Irvine and Senior Research Scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Shark Fin Bust

Friday, June 26, 2009
Double Whammy in the Galapagos: Two Busts in Two Days on Two Islands
Shark Fin Bust in Santa Cruz
On the evening of June 25th, 2009, the Ecuadorian Environmental Police, acting on information provided by Sea Shepherd Galapagos, raided a fisherman’s house on Santa Cruz Island. The Environmental Police were supported by the Galapagos National Park Service and the K9 Police Unit.
Thanks to the excellent work of the dogs and their guides, the police quickly found 52 large shark fins inside the house. The dried and fresh fins weighed about 30 pounds. They were cut from Black Tip sharks and Galapagos sharks. Additionally, the police confiscated a substantial amount of illegal fishing gear (hooks, nets, and long lines) used in the illegal shark fishing industry.
Although Ecuadorian law permits sharks to be caught as by-catch near the Ecuadorian mainland, fishing for sharks is absolutely prohibited inside the Galapagos Marine Reserve.
The shark fins have an estimated street value of $10,000.
The suspect is under detention. Sea Shepherd will continue to assist in the case to secure a conviction and proper sentence.

Read more… http://www.seashepherd.org/news-and-media/sea-shepherd-news.html

Rhino, lion carcasses found in home in S.Africa's diplomatic quarter

Johannesburg - South African police have arrested a man after discovering the carcasses of lions and rhinoceroses strewn around a house in the capital, Pretoria, local media reported Wednesday. Police were tipped off by the Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals after an inspector stumbled across the bones at the residence in the upmarket Waterkloof suburb, the South African Press Association reported.

Many diplomatic residences and an air force base are located in Waterkloof.

Photos taken at the scene showed carcasses and skulls strewn around the ground.

The report quoted a police spokesman as saying the man was suspected of illegally
slaughtering animals at his home. The suspect was allegedly an Asian.

Rhinoceros poaching has spiralled in southern Africa in recent years, fuelled
by the booming trade in rhinoceros horn in Asian markets, where it used in traditional medicine.






http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/262481,rhino-lion-carcasses-found-in-home-in-safricas-diplomatic-quarter.html

Tiger-Human Violence Linked to Paper Company

Eyes on the Forest, a conservation coalition, has released a research report on the clash between commercial logging and Sumatran tigers living in forests clear cut by the paper industry.
Their analysis shows that most of the tiger - human violence occurring in Sumatra has taken place near areas being deforested by Asia Pulp and Paper. Over the last 12 years, 55 people and 15 critically endangered Sumatran tigers have lost their lives in the violence. Seventeen of the tigers have been captured alive.
Johny Mundung, of Walhi Riau, an EoF coalition member stated, “APP has recently made ridiculous public claims that it is leading tiger conservation in the area, when in fact it is jeopardizing the safety of local communities and pushing the tigers closer to local extinction. Global paper buyers should not be fooled: APP destroys forests and wildlife.”
Fewer than 400 Sumatran Tigers are left in the wild forests. The number of breeding pairs may be unknown. A serious infectious disease could wipe out the whole population. The large cats also need enough space to find food to maintain a healthy state in order to breed and bear healthy offspring. No one seems to know how many living wild tiger cubs there are left in Sumatra. Island relatives of the Sumatran tiger are all extinct: the Bali, Java, and Trinil. The last
Bali tiger was shot in the wild in 1937.
Eyes of the Forest states that Asia Pulp and Paper cleared 2.5 million acres of wild forests to make pulp for paper products since 1980.

http://ecoworldly.com/2009/03/28/tiger-human-violence-linked-to-paper-company/

Livestock contributes more to climate change than previous estimates.

SupremeMasterTV.com

EXOTIC ANIMAL TRADE

Laos Emerges as Key Source
In Asia's Illicit Wildlife Trade
Long an isolated land with abundant forests and biodiversity, Laos is rapidly developing as China and other Asian nations exploit its resources. One of the first casualties has been the wildlife, now being rapidly depleted by a thriving black-market trade.
by rhett butler

Deep in the rugged mountains of Nam Et-Phou Louey National Protected Area on the Laos–Vietnam border, Laotian game wardens came upon the following scene: pieces of the pelt of a recently killed tiger, its bones removed, with rifle shells scattered in the trampled vegetation.

The wardens knew precisely what had happened. Poachers had trapped a tiger in a baited snare that had encircled one of its front feet with a cable and lifted the animal into the air. Coming upon the snarling tiger, the poachers had shot it, then proceeded to carve out its 22 to 26 pounds of bones, which — when ground up — would be sold to middlemen for the Chinese medicinal market. The poachers then cut off the tiger’s penis, which would eventually be soaked in wine and the wine drunk as an aphrodisiac.

Diet and Global Warming

To fight global warming, it is easy to insist the government implement new laws and policies. It is also relatively easy (albeit expensive) to change to a more fuel-efficient car. None of these affect one's personal life in any significant way, however.

If one takes the threat of global warming seriously, the most powerful personal step you can take may well be choosing a vegetarian diet. As pointed out in the Baltimore Sun (July 19, 2007; reproduced here):

We're getting "greener": Recycling, energy-saving light bulbs and fuel-efficient hybrid cars are now a part of our culture and economy. But most people are neglecting one of the most important steps toward stopping global warming: adopting a vegetarian diet.

It is not just animal advocates making the connection between what we choose to eat and the future of the Earth. In November of 2006, the United Nations issued a press release that stated:
Which causes more greenhouse gas emissions, rearing cattle or driving cars?

Surprise!

DEAD ZONES , Our Oceans Are Far From Safe

Ocean Dead Zones May Be Worse Than Thought
September 30, 2008
Spanish researchers found that many species die off at oxygen levels well above what is now considered uninhabitable. The new study suggests that the extent of dead zones in coastal areas that support fishing industries is greater than previously known.
Since the mid-20th century, more than 400 dead zones have formed along continental coastlines, where fertilizer pollution causes algal blooms whose decomposition feeds oxygen-gobbling bacteria.

These so-called hypoxic regions now cover an area roughly equivalent in size to Oregon. Compared to Earth's total ocean area, that's relatively small, but they're grouped in places critical to commercial fishing. They're also spreading, in both size and frequency: Since the 1960s, the number of hypoxic areas has doubled every 10 years.

Things You Should Know on Climate Change

Dr. James Hansen - NASA's top climatologist
"There are many things that people can do to reduce their carbon emissions, but changing your light bulb and many of the things are much less effective than changing your diet, because if you eat further down on the food chain rather than animals, which have produced many greenhouse gases, and used much energy in the process of growing that meat, you can actually make a bigger contribution in that way than just about anything. So, that, in terms of individual action, is perhaps the best thing you can do."

HE is now urging the United States to lead in the efforts to counter climate change. He stated, "We cannot now afford to put off change any longer. We have to get on a new path within this new administration. We have only four years left … to set an example to the rest of the world."

Dr. Hansen emphasized the importance of implementing measures like a carbon tax, which would raise the price of fuels to deter use, and to totally phase out the mining and use of coal. Dr. Hansen: Now if we want to phase out the fossil fuels, which we're going to have to do if we want to maintain a planet that looks like the one that we inherited from our parents, then we're going to have to apply a price to the carbon emissions. And the way that that would work, if you wanted the public to accept it, I think you have to give up 100% of that tax back to the public.

29 November 2006, Rome - Which causes more greenhouse gas emissions, rearing cattle or driving cars?

Surprise!

According to a new report published by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the livestock sector generates more greenhouse gas emissions as measured in CO2 equivalent – 18 percent – than transport. It is also a major source of land and water degradation.

Says Henning Steinfeld, Chief of FAO’s Livestock Information and Policy Branch and senior author of the report: “Livestock are one of the most significant contributors to today’s most serious environmental problems. Urgent action is required to remedy the situation.”

Now , what’s wrong with this picture? People wake up we have been told this 3 years ago and until just last week the EU parliament has acknowledged such information… Are we not seeing this more on the news , why aren’t our governments making the necessary changes ?

You should be more active and responsible for your own actions or lack of actions. Just don’t get all shocked when it’s too late thinking, why they “governments” didn’tdo anything? We have the right to demand from our governments and if we fail to do so we will eventually suffer the repercussions of our lack of initiative.

I'm Pleased to Inform That Earth Hour is Just around the Corner

Hi All,

As you will see this great movement has been taken by storm in such a short period of time. It is 2009 and Earth Hour is just getting stronger and expanding. Please watch the following and feel inspired to do your part as I and every other partaking individual partaking in this event.