Global Unity: Together in Saving Lives, Part 5 of a Multi-part Series, Oct. 3, 2009, Hong Kong

“Meat consumption is the primary cause of global warming, especially from methane gas. Methane gas has a strong global warming potential. One methane gas molecule is equal to something like 20 to 70 carbon dioxide molecules. So, if we avoid eating meat, we will get less methane. Something like 70% of the Amazon forests were cleared and slashed for animal grazing. If all of the Earth’s people go vegetarian, then we can save that 70% of the Amazon forest’s destruction.

According to our count (calculation) in the livestock industries, if we produce one kilogram of beef, we’ll make something like 800 to 1,000 liters of methane emitted into the atmosphere. It also consumes 100 million liters of water and produces livestock waste, which pollutes the air, pollutes our environment. Most people will say vehicles make some pollution and carbon dioxide; actually, if we count the [effects of the] livestock industry, we will see that even more than transportation, it causes the greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. That information came from a UN (United Nations) report.

The Morakot Typhoon, just like I mentioned, it’s not only a natural disaster, it’s also a manmade disaster. After Morakot, the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) announced that the once-in-200-years rainfall must correlate to climate change and global warming. We lose our family, we lose our land, and we lose our property. We need to sit down and think about what we should do next.”

It is really a time of urgency. And also, it is clear now that (animal-people) meat consumption is the primary cause of the greenhouse effect. We are really grateful to have Professor Lin today to share his scientific analysis on global warming, and the recent control and reduction strategies from Kaohsiung. It would be fantastic if every one of us would lead a sustainable life. But how to go green in terms of science and technology? Well, I think that our next speaker, Dr. Wu Enboa, will give us some recommendations on “Sustainability and Green Technology.”