2011 was the 10th Hottest Year in recorded history

ENVIRONMENT - 13 of the hottest year in recorded history were in the last 15 years. This past year was no different, tying for the number 10 spot. The global warming phenomenon and its cause due to greenhouse gases will certainly continue to be a hot topic in 2012.

Our governments will continue to ignore the threat of climate change and the growing sense of environmental catastrophe will expand as we encounter longer droughts, deeper floods, record setting hurricanes and bizarre weather.

World temperatures keep rising and we are heading for irreversible changes as the Arctic sea ice has shrunk to record-low volumes in 2011, the melting of the permafrost and rising sea levels. Rising sea levels is the biggest danger since most of the world's population lives in coastal cities which would be flooded by just a 7 meter increase (scientists have determined that if both poles melted it would be an approximately 21 meter increase). Some island nations will be destroyed entirely by rising sea levels.

"The science is solid and proves unequivocally that the world is warming," says R.D.J. Lengoasa, deputy director of the International Meteorological Organization. "Climate change is real, and we are already observing its manifestations in weather and climate patterns around the world," he said on the sidelines of the UN climate conference under way in South Africa.

2011 has been a year of extreme weather. Extreme drought in East Africa has left tens of thousands dead, and there have been deadly floods in Asia, and 14 separate weather catastrophes in the United States with damage topping $1 billion each. American insurance rates are skyrocketing due to weather alone.

Climate negotiators have set a goal of keeping temperatures from rising more than 2 C above preindustrial levels. The global temperature average is already 0.8 C above the preindustrial average.

"Forget about it. It's too late," says Michel Jarraud, IMO's secretary-general, who also says the 2.3 F target already is out of reach because countries keep bickering over blame and doing nothing.

Scientists are now stating the record high concentrations of greenhouse gases will result in the average global temperature eventually rising another 2.4 C above 2011 levels.

2011 saw high temperatures saturated the Earth despite a La Nina event, when low surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean normally has a cooling effect on the entire globe. 2012 is expected to be one of the top 5 hottest years on record.

This means bizarre and extreme weather will increase in both frequency and intensity as the Earth continues to warm.

PREDICTION: The melting of sea ice in the poles will create channels through which ocean currents can pull ice farther into warmer waters, causing a chain reaction and sea ice melting at a faster rate than normal. Similar events happened during the collapse of ice shelves in previous years, but the ocean currents could speed up the process.

2011: Year of the Protester

POLITICS - From the protests and revolution in Egypt, the Arab Spring (protests and governments toppling across North Africa and the Middle East) to the economic frustration felt in Europe to the Occupy Wall Street Movement we've seen our share of protests in 2011.

Indeed every continent but the Antarctica saw its share of protests in 2011. Even now in December as the year comes to a close protests remain in Israel, India, Chile, China, Britain, Spain and the United States.

So much so that “The Protester” was named Time Magazine's 2011 Person of the Year today. The distinction is given to the person who, for better or for worse, influences the events of the year.

“Is there a global tipping point for frustration? Everywhere, it seems, people said they'd had enough... ... They dissented; they demanded; they did not despair, even when the answers came back in a cloud of tear gas or a hail of bullets. They literally embodied the idea that individual action can bring collective, colossal change,” says Time Editor Rick Stengel.

In China, the Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei was held 81 days in secret detention by Chinese authorities earlier this year. The arrest and lack of charges against him sparked an international outcry and protests in China.

Deadly Greenhouse Gas bubbling up in Russian Arctic

By Charles Moffat.

ENVIRONMENT - Dr Semiletov of Russia released his findings for the first time last week at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco. His findings show an unprecedented release of methane that is bubbling up from the East Siberian Arctic Shelf.

Methane is a greenhouse gas 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

The Russian report states that methane has been seen bubbling to the surface of the Arctic Ocean by Russian scientists undertaking an extensive survey of the region. The scale of the methane release astonished the head of the Russian research team who has been surveying the seabed of the East Siberian Arctic Shelf off northern Russia for nearly 20 years.

Igor Semiletov, of the Far Eastern branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, states that he has never before witnessed the scale and force of the methane being released from beneath the Arctic seabed.

"Earlier we found torch-like structures like this but they were only tens of metres in diameter. This is the first time that we've found continuous, powerful and impressive seeping structures, more than 1,000 metres in diameter. It's amazing," says Dr Semiletov. "I was most impressed by the sheer scale and high density of the plumes. Over a relatively small area we found more than 100, but over a wider area there should be thousands of them."

American scientists estimate that there are hundreds of millions of tonnes of methane gas locked beneath the Arctic permafrost, which extends from the mainland into the seabed. With the disappearance of the Arctic sea-ice in summer, and rapidly rising temperatures across the entire Arctic, the trapped methane could be suddenly released into the atmosphere leading to rapid and severe climate change.

Dr Semiletov's team published a study in 2010 estimating that the methane emissions from this region were about eight million tonnes per year at that time, but the latest expedition suggests that the phenomenon has increased dramatically in volume and strength.

In late Summer 2011 the Russian research vessel Academician Lavrentiev conducted an extensive survey of about 10,000 square miles of sea off the East Siberian coast. Scientists deployed four highly sensitive instruments, both seismic and acoustic, to monitor the "fountains" or plumes of methane bubbles rising to the sea surface from beneath the seabed.

"In a very small area, less than 10,000 square miles, we have counted more than 100 fountains, or torch-like structures, bubbling through the water column and injected directly into the atmosphere from the seabed," says Dr Semiletov. "We carried out checks at about 115 stationary points and discovered methane fields of a fantastic scale – I think on a scale not seen before. Some plumes were a kilometre or more wide and the emissions went directly into the atmosphere – the concentration was a hundred times higher than normal."

And if its bubbling up in the Russian arctic chances are likely up it is also bubbling up in the Canadian arctic and off the coast of Greenland.

Veganism, The New Religion

By Charles Moffat.

HEALTH/RELIGION - Veganism is more than a diet to many Vegans. Its a way of life. Its a set of moral values. Why should a religion need anything more than that?

There are other non-deistic religions in the world (non-deistic means a religion with no god). Confucianism for example believes in honouring ancestors. Shamanism and various other religions believe in a spirit world, but one without a god.

For fun some Canadians and Americans put down "Jedi" when asked their religion, so much so that some Jedi people now claim it should be acknowledged as an actual religion.

However the major problem with organized religions is that they tend to be pushy, worse than credit recovery agencies and their annoying phone calls, and they try to push their beliefs unto others by ranting on and on about how their religion is superior.

And certainly there are some Vegans out there whom do that. (And we could also say the same about some meat-eaters and omnivores always trying to convert Vegans and vegetarians back to the fold of bacon.)

I have a Vegan friend who unlike a few other Vegans I've met doesn't try to ram her lifestyle down the throats of unwilling people. She doesn't try to coerce you, doesn't fuss about all the health benefits of Veganism (unless it comes up naturally as part of the conversation), doesn't show you horribly graphic documentaries showing how cattle, lambs and horses and brutally slaughtered for food... she just treats everyone equal, bends over backwards to be nice to people and is genuine about it.

Her behaviour is such that I wish more people (not just Vegans) were more like her. Genuinely nice.

Because frankly there is nothing more annoying than a friend who is constantly trying to get you to change your beliefs, doesn't respect your beliefs, and wants you to completely change your lifestyle.

Becoming a Vegan is a daunting task. People don't do it over night. It really is like changing your religion. Its a life style change, from the clothes you wear (no wool, leather or fur), no foods or drinks that contain any kind of meat, dairy or animal byproducts... and some of them may lose friends in arguments about morality and food.

I would argue therefore that there really needs to be a set of ethics for Vegans. A sort of Ten Commandments of Veganism... and these edicts should include behavioural advice too.

The Thou Shalt Commandments of Veganism

1. Thou shalt not eat meat, dairy or animal byproducts.

2. Thou shalt not wear leather, fur, wool or animal byproducts.

3. Thou shalt not use household objects containing animal byproducts.

4. Thou shalt be respectful of other people's food habits.

5. Thou shalt be courteous and kind and non-forceful when spreading your ideas.

6. Thou shalt be helpful to people expressing an interest in Vegan lifestyle.

7. Thou shalt be equally kind to people with no interest in Vegan lifestyle.

8. Thou shalt let other people, including your own children, decide for themselves.

9. Thou shalt be understanding of other people's opinions and respectful of their decisions.

10. Thou shalt be a role-model for other Vegans and people in general.

Is that too much to ask?

I know if we replaced the word Vegan with the names of various religions (especially the ones which go door to door trying to convert people) that the above 'Thou Shalts' would be too much for some people to actually do. There are two kinds of people in the world: Those who like to force their beliefs on others, and those who simply ask to be left alone to make their own decisions.

I personally prefer to make my own decisions. If I go to the fridge and pull out cheese and bread and make a grilled cheese sandwich, its my decision. If I can respect the choices of others, why should they not respect mine?

See Also:
Veggie-Curious