Dalai Lama makes case for animal rights at Irwin's zoo

Beerwah, Australia -- With creatures great and small around him, the Dalai Lama called Wednesday for a halt to lab experiments on animals and made the case for eating only fruits and vegetables -- all at the zoo of the late "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin.

The spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhists delicately handled a Burmese python and petted a koala as he was feted like a rock star at Australia Zoo, speaking int a sold-out crowd of 5,000 at its open-air "Crocoseum."

"Hunting, beef, sheep farms, piggeries, millions, billions, die," the Dalai Lama said. "We can be so cruel to animals."

Experts say global warming is hitting West hard

Dam operators, water district managers, farmers, conservationists and scientists all predict mounting problems as scarce water supplies dwindle further in an area stretching from the Pacific Northwest to the desert Southwest.

"The warming in the West can now confidently be attributed to rising greenhouse gases and are not explained by any combination of natural factors," said Philip Mote, head of the Climate Impacts Group at the University of Washington.

* Spring snow pack already has declined at nearly 75% of all weather recording stations in Washington, Oregon, and California, and the spring runoff is coming two weeks earlier than in the past.

* Southern California is experiencing its driest year on record, and Lake Mead, which supplies water to large parts of the Southwest, could be empty in 10 years.

* Tens of thousands of irrigated acres will fall out of production as water supplies tighten, and tensions over water supplies will only be exacerbated as the effects of climate change deepen.

What will the impact be on the people of those states? and the United States and World?? How will we supply water to those people? Are there restrictions to wasteful water practices in place? Are there campaigns to educate the public on our most valuable and life giving resource? Are we collecting what excess runoff there may be in reservoirs for safekeeping? By how much will the food supply be depleted when the fields aren't irrigated? How will we supply that food? Where would the most ideal place be to grow food with this projection? For what purpose are/will we using water on fields? We know that it takes 2,500 gallons of water to produce a pound of beef, but only 25 gallons to produce a pound of wheat. Furthermore, the EPA reports that chicken, hog, and cattle excrement have polluted 35,000 miles of rivers in 22 states and contaminated ground water in 17 states. That doesn't seem like a wise use of water to me. Isn't it about time we scrutinize the exorbitant, destructive, greedy, and reckless nature of our nation's consumption of meat? Are our lawmakers talking about this stuff? Are there committees trying to devise a game plan? I am frightened for my girls future, and I am growing ever more frustrated with our lack of leadership.

U.S. cuts efforts to monitor global warming from space

I'll tell you , I'm really getting fed up with the Bush administration playing Russian roulette with the Earth! Is it 2008 yet?

Bush and his people are drastically scaling back efforts to measure global warming from space, just as the president tries (unsuccessfully) to convince the world the U.S. is ready to take the lead in reducing green-house gases.

A confidential report to the White House, obtained by The Associated Press, warns that downsizing a satellite program will cause U.S. scientists to soon lose much of their ability to monitor warming from space.

The Dec. 11 report by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says that 7 separate climate sensors are being eliminated or substantially downgraded to save money. (No doubt that money will be used for Bush's war) Those sensors are needed to collect precise data over long periods.

Rick Piltz, director of Climate Science Watch, a watchdog program of the Washington-based Government Accountability Project, called the situation a crisis. "We're going to start being blinded in our ability to observe the planet," Said Piltz. "It's criminal negligence, and the leaders in the climate science community are ringing the alarm bells on this crisis."

Last week, the president proposed the idea of the 15 largest global-warming polluters - the U.S. is the largest, followed closely by China - meeting to set goals for fixing the problem while leaving it up to each nation just how to do it. Another rotton Bush idea!

I'm angry at Bush for being so damn reckless and destructive -- with the environment, and with his war. I'm looking for a big change, and I hope the Democratic candidates are not distracted into debating Bush's war the whole campaign. I'm looking for somebody to take a stand on global warming.