Buddhism and the Global Warming Problem

Ven. Thich Dat Bao & Prof. Dr. Mai Trim Ngoc Tieng
Lecturers, Vietnam Buddhist University

The living environment includes the ingredients necessary for the life of all beings. These include air, soil, water, animal and vegetation ... that exist in nature on the earth.

The density of all living beings on earth is the basic foundation for promoting the development from the basic infrastructure to the upper structures, as well as cultural monuments. Furthermore, the earth's resources are fully used to serve the benefits of humans.

Seawater plays a very important role for human life. Besides providing salt, minerals and seafood, the oceans also contain other resources that are very valuable to human needs for entertainment and esthetics.

The atmosphere is the lungs for all living thing-,, and these can not grow strongly if the air is polluted. Therefore, the process of global air exchange of animals and plants ensures an ecological balancing and a clean atmosphere, requiring minimum average densities necessary for life of 0.03 % of carbon dioxide (C02) and 28% of oxygen with an average temperature from 25 - 30 С and a humidity level of 80%.

The atmosphere is covered by a dense ozone (03) layer. The distance from the ground level to the ozone layer is 10 -20 Km. Ozone (03) was recognized as a chemical substance in 1840. Ozone is a chemical agent, whose oxidization is much stronger than oxygen, but it is does not last long at high temperature. Higher temperature will create stronger reaction, especially with metals. The ozone layer can filter all the longwave ultraviolet radiation shorter than 320 rm from the sun. These rays are bad for living beings in high intensity. In the atmosphere, ozone layer is the product of reaction of u.v. radiation with 02, and ozone is causing the greenhouse effect.

1. What is the Greenhouse Effect

In the winter, it is quite cold in the North. There are no leaves on trees. However, it is quite warm in the greenhouse with vegetables growing nicely and plants full of life as in Spring. This is the effect of the greenhouse, because its glasses allow the sun rays to pass through. But they prevent the radiation from escaping; therefore the temperature inside the greenhouse is gradually increasing.

The energy from solar radiation is emitted at high temperature, is transmitted by short waves and, hence, is very strong. It can traverse through the atmosphere, and is absorbed by the earth surface. The earth itself releases the energy of radiation back to space. With low radiation transmitted by long waves, it is weaker. When they go through the atmosphere, the energy is stopped and absorbed by all the gases and humidity in the atmosphere. This causes the temperature in the atmosphere to rise gradually. This results in the rise in the temperature of the earth surface, similar to the sun rays going through the greenhouse. That is why it is called the "greenhouse effect".

Normally in a non-polluted atmosphere, the greenhouse effect is very important, because it provides the earth with a temperature of 35C. This is the temperature necessary for life on earth. However, if the atmosphere is polluted, the greenhouse effect increases and the Earth will become hotter with time.

Furthermore, together with the greenhouse effect are highly toxic gases that are emitted from the earth and are destroying the structure of the ozone layer. Ozone absorbs the energy of toxic rays but the ozone layer is becoming thinner. Hence, these toxic rays from space have better chance of penetrating the earth surface and cause harm to life of all living beings, including humans.

2. The Causes of Greenhouse Effect

There are several causes leading to the greenhouse effect:

• humidity
• carbon dioxide (C02)
• volcanoes
• burning fossil fuels
• burning and destroying forests.

The main reason for aggravating the greenhouse effect is the increased levels of C02 in the atmosphere due to the industrial revolution and the production of chemical weapons. According to researchers, on the average, C02 increases 24 billion tons per year (25%) and will double by the middle of the 2151 century.

There are two additional gases causing the greenhouse
effect:

• methane (CH4) created by fermenting bio-organics
• nitrous oxide (N20) created by burning fossil fuels and using organic and inorganic fertilizers in agriculture.

The chlorofluorocarbon compounds (CFC) are the major elements destroying the ozone layer. They are chemicals used in the cold industry, cleaning the electronic circuits, in washing and bleaching solutions, fire extinguishers, etc... (CFC includes CFC11, CFC'2, CFCI3, CF2C12 which are chemical compounds and also commonly called Freon 12 or PI2). When CFC rise up to the top of the atmosphere, they are disintegrated by ultraviolet radiation into chlorine. This chlorine reacts with the oxygen in the ozone (03) layer leading to destroying the layer. When the ozone layer becomes thinner, it will not fulfill its responsibility of a direct shield protecting the earth from ultraviolet radiation, causing adverse effects on human health and all beings living on Earth.

Moreover, the ozone layer is also affected by polymers with double bonds in structure, e.g. rubber, old tires, and other rubber products burned by humans. These compounds contribute to thinning the ozone layer and creating bigger holes in the atmosphere.

Scientists had found holes in the ozone layer in 1979, which appeared in the South polar region at a height of 16 -23 km. In October 1987, the density of the ozone layer in the South Pole decreased 50% which created a hole with the surface area covering the entire Europe. In the North Pole, the ozone layer decreased from 3.5 - 5%. On October 17, 1994 the scientists found another hole with an area larger than 25 million k'"2 that was spreading to South America.
Many research projects have proved that the more the ozone layer is affected by the ultraviolet rays the more the respiratory systems and the lungs are affected. According to a report by the United Nations (November 1991), the ozone layer reduced 10% will lead to sicknesses such as cancer and cataract problems that can cause blindness. Reduced density of ozone layer will cause serious effects such as changes in the nature of food chains, an imbalanced ecosystem, reducing water capacity, climate changes due to increased ultraviolet radiation which contributes to strengthening the greenhouse effect.

Nowadays, the issue of protecting the ozone layer becomes an issue that threatens the survival of the earth and an international environmental protection organization named "Ozone Layer Protection Convention" was formed.

3. Effects of Global Warming on Human Living Environment

Carbon dioxide concentrations at a fixed level in the air a I low proper temperatures to be maintained on the earth. If there was no C02 in the air, the global average temperature would be -15 ОС and the earth would freeze. According to scientists, if the C02 concentration in the atmosphere would increase to 420 ppm, then all ice and snow on the high glaciers in the North Pole and South Pole would melt.

A large use of energy from fossil fuels such as coal, oil, natural gas causes the C02 concentration to rise quickly. The C02 concentration has been estimated to rise yearly 0.7 ppm and the global temperature will increase approximately 1.5-4.5С in the 30s of the 21st century compared to today temperature. At that time, the ocean will be warmer, the sea level will rise and residential areas in coastal towns will be sunk. At that time, the natural environment and ecosystem will also be seriously destroyed. Natural disasters such as tornadoes, storms, rains, tsunamis, floods and drought will become more serious and cause inestimable losses to life on the earth.

According to the World Bank estimates published on February 26, 2007, a rise in sea level due to increased global temperature will severely affect developing countries including Vietnam, especially the Mekong delta and the Red River delta. If the sea level rises up to 5 m, Vietnam will lose 16% of its land areas and 35% of the population and about 35% GDP will be affected. Even with a 1-meter rise, 10.8% of the Vietnamese total population will suffer heavy losses.

According to the Vietnamese Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, if the sea level rise up to one meter, Vietnam will lose 17 billion dollars per year and 17 million citizens will suffer, including 14 million residents in the Mekong delta. About 40,000 km2 of the deltas will be flooded, 17,000 km2 of coastal land will sink in seawater. Areas affected the most include Ca Mau, Kien Giang, Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Nam Dinh, Thai Binh and

Thanh Hoa. It is forecasted that average temperature will rise proximately 0.1 - 0.7C in 2010 in the Southern provinces and 1.2 -4.5C in 2070 (Bio-diversity and climate change: the relationship between poverty and sustainable development. Organized by TN & MT on May 22nd, 2007).

Another issue that severely affects the world development is the climate change. Today, climate change is more difficult to be forecasted ... Vietnam and Bangladesh are two countries that suffer the most from climate change. Climate change causes frequent storms, shifting of storm paths to the south and storm occurrences in the last months of the year. It causes the appearance of strange sicknesses and globalizes several diseases that occurred previously in small geographical regions.

The Non-governmental Christian Aid Organization (the head office in England) has warned: at least 1 billion people will become homeless in 2050 due to climate change. This will worsen the current emigration crisis around the world. The climate change experts (IPCC) predicted that by the year of 2080 about 1.1-3.2 billion people will lack clean water and approximately 200-600 million people will suffer hunger.

4. Current World Strategies against Global Warming

Based on the creative idea of the Clinton environmental initiative fund (financed by US former President Bill Clinton), leaders of big cities in the world (C40) met in New York on May 14, 2007 and have wholc-heartily adopted several programs for fast reductions in greenhouse gases.

On June 5, 1972, over 1,300 representatives from 113 countries in the world had attended a meeting in Stockholm (Sweden). The meeting passed the "Declaration of Human Environment" which recommended "with the increasing population and the exhaustion of natural resources, the environment would continue to be polluted and ruined". The conference called on "the government and citizens of all the countries together to protect and improve the environment, and bring happiness to everyone in the world and future generations" in the 27th International Convention of the same year. The "Environmental Day of the world" has been formed. Every year on the day, all the countries in the world has developed activities to get everyone's attention to environmental friendly issues, and other dangers due to the human deposition toward the environment. The Environmental Day has become a festival for everyone in the world.

On November, 18, 1992, there were 1575 world scientists and among them there were 99 who had won Nobel price presented the document "the warnings of scientists to the people in the world. It is about the antagonist of humans and nature." This document presented a few issues such as the thinning of the ozone layer, polluted atmosphere, misused resources, poisoning the oceans, destroying cultivated land, gradual disappearing animals and vegetation and increasing population. All of these are the causing elements that have threatened human life on earth. There are 8 main causes of polluting the environment:

1. Acid rain
2. Increased C02 concentration in the atmosphere
3. Destruction of the ozone layer
4. Effects of chemical substances includes chemicals to
protect vegetation
5. Pollution of clean water"
6. Land desertification
7. Continuing reduction in tropical forests
8. Nuclear threats

In December 1993 our nation has officially passed the law of environment protection. On April 18, 94, the government has enforced the decree 175/CP of guiding the Environmental

Protection Law, and the decree

26/ Cp on April 26, 1996 has been applied for executing on violation of administration of environmental protection which has reported in People Development Magazine in 2007 -2008 of UNDP, with title "The Opposition of Climate Change; the separation of Human United in the world" has mentioned clearly.

Up to now, there are many scientific proofs that show the human disposition toward climate change which lead the world to the ecosystem disaster, by the irreversible action and developed human wastes.

To the billions of people in the world, climate change is no longer a future plan, it is destroying people's effort of escaping from poverty and danger that has threaten then. The next generations have to face the same effects. They have to live with the threatening which we have created" Our future is not predestination. We can only win Mother Nature, but this defense requires contributions of everyone in the world, every nation government's corporative solution" such as:

1. The basic justice freedom
2. Protection resources and ecological nature
3. Concrete dangers to the environment such as nuclear weapons, nuclear energy converted for peaceful uses.
4. Dumping wastes in the oceans, rivers, and ground
5. Waste air expelled out by transportation, and forest burns create a massive increase of C02 content which causes the temperature increase in the atmosphere.

5. What Buddhism Can Contribute to This Problem?

Buddhism has layout ethic about environmental protection in order to protect our lives and individual happiness. Everyone has to practice the immeasurable compassion toward all sentient beings, protect and love them as our only child.

After enlightenment under a Bodhi tree, the Buddha laid out the notion of Cause and Effect in 4 sentences:

1. This thing arise will cause others to arise
2. This thing is not so other is not
3. This thing arises so other arises
4. This thing destroyed so others also destroyed

This theory contains a law of 12 Links of Conditions, the Four Noble Truths, Cause and Karma Effect. According to writer Hanh Binh, "arised condition tenet illustrated as such:

"When a person is born, he or she has an idea about parents, so this idea related closely together, this equal interrelation between this and others things. Besides, there are many cause and effect correlation: there is the element of parents therefore, there is element of children. Parents are the cause to form the effect. These two examples containing meaning of any tenet formed by causes and conditions. There is no such thing formed and existed from one cause and one condition. Therefore, the existence of things contain the impermanent features, the sentence "this thing is destroyed, the other will be destroyed. " refers to the process destroying of all things. For example, cooked rice is from rice, water, fire, and a rice-cooker. If missing one of any these elements, cooked rice will not be formed. Humans and environment have the same system of formation.''

The Buddha preached the arising condition as a truth which means it applied to anything, any one, any where, any religion has to follow this tenet in order to gain joy and happiness.

According the fourteenth Dalai Lama, in his preaching about compassion and human being, human beings living on earth have responsibility to develop happy lives. Then, what brings the most happiness ?

Humans are composed of psychological and physical body. There is no problem of growing physical body. However, our mind records all issues, even from the unimportant to the important issues.

The ultimate happiness is is to grow our compassion so we can provide happiness to others while wc also fully enjoy the happiness. Growing compassion naturally enhances our state of mind in peace. The calm state of mind has the ability to deal with difficulty in life.

Therefore, when we counteract with any difficulties, it is a rare opportunity to enhance developing our won mentality. Our compassion can be shown through our love. Love is very necessary to human existence, and it is an interrelationship of humans in any period of life.

However, not only the human interrelationship, even insects, or any beings such as bacteria have to depend on each other to exist. The existences on earth such as oceans, forests, flowers, leaves are inter-dependently constructed, otherwise they will be destroyed.

Everyone needs loves. Several American scientists have reported that 12% of the population is suffering mental illness and the majority of them sick due to lack of human love which is compassion. How do we make our compassion grow? There are many forms of compassion and usually was clanged and craved for. For instance, love from parents for their children is formed by the relationship between them, so it is compassionate. However, love between a couple is based on romance and passion. It is, therefore, is not considered compassion.

When hatred and animosity arise, we tend to be objective to them. We have to understand that hatred has excited humans toward losing balance between mentality and physical body leading us to being sick. When our state of mind is calm with full of healthy thoughts, there would be a chance of suffering form sickness attack. True compassion does not require the pay back and we have to treat everyone equally even to a bad person. However, the person's action will lead them to face the effect.

To conclude the above content; the following sentences in the Metta Sutra which enhances the reader's developing compassion (Thich Thien Chau translated from SuttaNipata page 143 - 152).

Poor but pure heart, easily tolerated
Control the senses and the cautions
Provide happiness to all beings
Wishing all be happy
Not omit one sentient being
With form or formless
One is born or unborn
When resent and angry
Still, do not cause any suffer for each other
Provide love as a mother to a child
Be sacrifice and protective
Open arm with unlimited of love
With full of.morality and eternity of wisdom
And with determine of ceasing greedy.

Our compassion can not be growth in one day, we have to remember that we always stores our "ego" in our mind. Our compassion can only be shown when our ego is not raised.

Next, we have to give up our hatred. It covers our rational part of our brain. It allows destroying and regretful actions. When anger arises, wc become hysterical. Dealing with this situation, wc have to be patiently affable and flexible, and that is considered compassion. When countering with unwanted situations, at first, we have to be calm, being true and without any thoughts of getting even

In order to succeed, we have to view the opponent person a> our talented teacher who is giving us a few hard tests in our lives This allows us to practice of being tolerant by our compassion.

The individual's happiness is part of elements of developing society. Everyone is our brother and sister. There are differences in outfits, but everyone's basic needs of life are common.

According to the Buddha's teachings, there is no reason to separate us from each other, even we have different religion or nationality, we all co-integrate in the world, and each one of us is a small universe. Our compassion spreads all over. It's just like a tree that is living in a healthy land being bloom.

In conclusion, on the issue of nurturing our nature and preventing increasing temperature of the Earth, Buddhism shows us a tenet of inter-dependent conditions. This means there is an interrelation between human beings, and between human and the environment. The co-existence of one tiling and the other, the cause and effect, and the Noble Eightfold Path lead to ceasing of sufferings. In other words, being a real Buddhist is being a good citizen of the world, because we will face the same situation as other beings. Therefore, humans have to seek for a solution of reducing population.

Being realistic to the compassion, every Buddhist has to contribute to keeping the environment clean, balancing the ecosystem, simple living, managing the overpopulation and especially protecting the environment around us, and not creating any conflict to our neighbor countries.

Thoughtfully, in the relation to Buddhist education program, we should develop basic courses in ecology and green planet to increase our awareness of protecting lives on earth.