-Caveat Lector-

forwarded

Dave Hartley
http://www.Asheville-Computer.com
http://www.ioa.com/~davehart


-----Original Message-----
From: jean hudon [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Tuesday, August 31, 1999 1:10 AM
To: Jean Hudon
Subject: Last feedbacks about the August 11 meditation, some other
miscellaneous subjectsand a warning by 4,000 scientists from 100
countries regarding theongoing mass extinction of plant and animal
species on Earth


Hello everyone

This email contains the last feedbacks received about the August 11
meditation, a couple feedbacks regarding the Chinese persecution of Ghi
Gong practitioners, 2 initiatives I recommend to your attention, a couple
other personal feedbacks -- and again thanks for all your great feedbacks
and supporting words for this networking service -- and a sobering analysis
by scientists warning humanity of mass extinction of plants and animals on
Earth, something we ought to pay close attention to as we enter the last
stretch before the turn into a new millennium that will show whether we
have the collective spiritual wisdom necessary to overturn a dire
ecological mess into a bright future for all - a feat I believe we can and
*will* achieve - see more on this in my response below to Catherine Tilley.

May Peace Prevail on Earth... and Love in every heart

Jean Hudon
Earth Rainbow Network Coordinator
http://www.cybernaute.com/earthconcert2000

But first some good news!

From: grace <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: East Timor update

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR PRAYERS AND MEDITATIONS!!!

The latest reports are (I updated this sentence - JH) that there was an
astounding 90% participation rate to the polling and that THE VIOLENCE HAS
STOPPED !!!  The voting has been PEACEFUL!

Please continue to include the people of East Timor in your prayers, so the
peace may continue!

Much love and warm hugs

Grace

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Date: Thu, 26 Aug 1999
From: Joy Wright <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Personal Update

Hello Jean, I want to thank you for all you have been
sharing, and I in turn have been passing it along to to
others in other states as well as local.

On a personal level, the meditation consisted of one other &
myself. The changes since that time have been, well---
interesting. I FEEL different. Not bad, not good, but
different. Emotions have been running higher, "adjustments"
have had to be made in my relationships, I am more "in your
face" with situations that do not serve "my higher good".
Setting boundaries, not in anger anymore, but certainly
grounded. Seem to be refocusing. Your info has been VERY
useful to understand what is going on too. Thank you again.

Joy

I have a web page I am sending to you to check out. James
Twyman & Greg Braden were here locally last weekend & a
friend attended & gave us this connection for James's new
book and why the info cannot wait for publishing as regard
the energy changes. For instance did you know the pulse of
the earth has gone from 7.8 bpm to 10-11? Increased energy.
Keep it coming, I pass it along and thank you.

Check out this web page:
http://www.worldpuja.org/beloveddisciple/beloved.html

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Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999
From: Bonnie Talbot <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: August 11th Report

Jean,

This year was the most fun I have ever had on my birthday (August 11th)! I
want to thank you for coordinating and sharing all the information you did
regarding that day.

The August 11th events were preceded by about a week of higher than usual
energy
and very little sleep - the body felt August 11th coming on a very cellular
level.

The most incredible experience for the body was actually on the afternoon
of August 9th - about 36 hours before the worldwide meditation. In Santa
Barbara, a light worker was sitting with me when this body was flung back
onto the couch as flashes of a former body being dragged through the
streets to its death passed before these eyes - then hundreds of other
deaths followed - burnings, stakes through the heart, etc. There have been
many, many lifetimes of being persecuted for my spiritual teachings and
beliefs. Yet, on 8/9/99, they were blown away in 10 minutes and my calling
in this lifetime to do Satsang (spiritual teaching of non-duality/advaita)
has been deeply anchored. No more shadows or lurking beliefs around
persecution for speaking Truth - the transformation of this ancient belief
already speaks to what is happening cosmically!  All that remains is love!
In fact, I have started writing a book this week to share the truth with
the world.

The night of August 10th to the morning of the 11th, this body did not
sleep at all until after the morning (3-5 AM) meditation. While most of my
neighbors here in Southern California were sleeping, there was a group
meditation at my home of 4 people and there were 3 other friends meditating
at their homes as well. The energy in the house was buzzing and was so
thick it was palpable. There were a lot of flashes of light and the two
times I got up to go to other areas of the house, it felt like I was
walking on a surface other than a solid floor. The gravity also felt
affected as I walked as I could hardly keep my balance. The two hours flew
by like it was only 10-15 minutes.

Then at around 12:15 Pacific Time, we started the second meditation with 5
people. After a couple of hours, we drove as a group of 7 up to the
RamaKrishna Monastery and meditated in their shrine room for an hour around
4 Pacific Time.  That evening, twelve of us celebrated the birth of this
body and shared dinner,
laughter, love and light into the wee hours of the morning - the last car
to leave for L.A. left around 1:30 AM and those remaining stayed up until
about 4:30 AM on the 12th.

The high-level energy was buzzing for at least the last 10 days and the
shifts
continue to manifest.

In deepest gratitude to the universe for this transformational time . . .
and an
incredible birthday!

Pavani

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From: "Grover, Virginia M" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: My 8-11-99 meditation:
Date: Mon, 23 Aug 1999

I meditated during the eclipse and saw wonderful things ahead for us all.
The new energy pouring down on the planet will bring great changes.
Discoveries and inventions that will change all our lives for the better.
Events like the recent shooting rampages will become unimaginable.
Deliberately harming the environment will not be tolerated in any degree;
companies who refuse to change their ways in this regard will vanish like
smoke upon the wind.  The countries that were directly under the light of
the eclipse will be most dramatically affected, although the effects will
not be immediately apparent, or perceived as permanent.  Mostly it seems to
be a general change in attitude and values.  Negative attitudes will be
recognized as destructive and become utterly repellant.  A great spiritual
change will occur in India, transforming their culture and eliminating much
of their poverty.  In France, there will be less focus on protecting the
purity of the French culture and more appreciation of and melding with
other cultures.  Important medical discoveries about human fertility and
contraception will occur there within the next few years, and spread
rapidly; as an eventual result, abortion will cease to be an issue
anywhere.  The Vatican initially will not be 'pleased' but will ultimately
decide these changes are a result of 'divine inspiration' - a face-saving
way to accept the inevitable.  All I got about Germany is that it would
'mellow out'.  In Great Britain, there will be a strong resurgence of
Celtic culture, and nearly-extinct traditions will be widely practiced
again.  It also seemed there would some land-loss, as though parts of the
British Isles would sink or be eaten away by the ocean rather more rapidly
than usual.

Learning to eat foods only when they are in season and natural to the area
where you live.  Incorrect combinations of foods will be shown to be the
cause of obesity and various illnesses.  Helping people to change their
habits in this regard will be a minor industry for a while, but mostly for
the older generations.  Children will adapt quickly and easily to the
revised guidelines, and intuitively recognize that it makes them feel
better, and it will reduce learning problems in younger children.

How will America be affected?  Much of the changes will leapfrog over or
around agencies like the FDA and the AMA.  Changes at the grass-roots level
will transform how communities cope with their problems; their solutions
will be simple, effective and permanent because they embrace and support as
opposed to controlling and punishing.  Government as it now is structured
will become irrelevant and will restructure and downsize, becoming a open
framework, easily traversed and accessed, its function to facilitate
transport and communication between communities, but without interfering
with the wishes of the communities.  Transportation itself will change a
lot.  People will walk more because the streets will be safer and they will
not be commuting as they are now, certainly not over long distances.  Cars
will be for the old and infirm, and will not be allowed to operate if they
pollute the environment. The attitude toward sports will change -
participating will be more important than watching - watching will be more
for instruction than amusement.  Community gardens will become more popular
and important; cities will show them off with great pride.  The most
beautiful garden of all will be on the site of a former prison; it will be
created to exorcise the pain and fear lingering at the site.  It will be
seen as a cultural triumph, an emblem of the changes we have wrought.

Ginger   [EMAIL PROTECTED]

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Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999
From: omahhung <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject:  Chinese persecution of Ghi Gong practitioners

Dear Jean,

Hi, this is your friend in Hongkong.  I am writing coz i have always
suspected
that what Nostradamus referred to...the Mongols..was actually this Fa Lun
Gung
thing.

I was in Beijing last week and they are still making a lot out of this.
They have ppl on TV being interviewed, saying how  'bad' the Fa Lun is etc.
etc.  Most of them look like poor farmers.  They have put together shows on
TV, linking Fa Lun with cults like the American ones where many people were
murdered or voluntarily committed suicide.

I truly believe that good will come out of this, if people would just
concentrate on doing it for themselves, and in return affecting the
collective, instead of involving the ego's needs to publicize and preach.
Personally, being half Chinese, i do not understand why people are making a
big protest out of this. Chinese are taught to have low profiles, not to
create mountains out of mole hills.

We can always practise at home.  The whole point is to have good health, to
feel
good about oneself.  If everyone did this, every one who has learnt Chi
Kung, we
will affect the energy around us, the Chi around us.

Why has this escalated to this level?  Why create so much fear?  If we
really
wanted to do some thing, we can meditate and practise on our own. In
numbers we will succeed more quickly, but alone we can still invoke love
and light.

The thing that bugs me most and which has me seriously thinking about
leaving
here, is the fact that the Pope was disallowed from coming.  To me, this is
the
end of any kind of professed freedom that we are supposed to enjoy being a
SAR
(Special Administrative Region).

This Fa Lun Gung furor is causing much repercussion.

As a producer of TV commercials, i was gonna be filming a statue of Buddhist
significance for Fung Shui purposes, as a collector's item. The TV
censorship
board has told us not to show the "buddha" face, that anything religious is
not to be shown!

This is a first for me, as i have been producing commercials for the past
20 years for Hongkong and China.

May love prevail on earth, May Peace Prevail on Earth.

summer love lotus (my Chinese name)

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Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999
From: Gene Svetlana Albinder <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Chinese persecution of Ghi Gong practitioners

Hello Jean et al,

As far as the Chinese Government going after the Ghi Gong masters. Well,
technically speaking - I wouldn't be doing that if I were them. That is -
if they believe in such a thing as a Human Soul. For going after Spirit -
they make themselves adversaries of Spirit, thus, making their own demise
manifest. This has always surprized me about the commies; They lack
consciousness to such an extent that are willing to crucify their own
children for the sake of maintaining control over system that is
implicitely self-destructive and at this point dilapidated beyond repare.

If somebody ( anybody ) in Chinese Government had a shred of humanity left
in them, they would find it in themselves to wake up in the morning and
look up to the skies - for they are on the display - the sorry and
saddening display of a miserable failure to understand their own
temporality, - on display in front of the whole Universe.

Practice of Ghi-Gong is older than anything they can imagine. It is, in a
way, the method of super-human communications. Ghi-Gong works with energy
patterns, - the natural flows of Chi in and out of the human vessel - human
body. Advanced practitioners live in a sort of expanded vortex, - their
energy presense 'phase-shifts' ( Thank You, Dr. Greer ). Another words, -
an advanced practitioner affects the field around him or her-self to the
extent that it is felt in the body of the Universal consciousness. These
are truisms to those who have ever taken T'ai-Chi and realized its
potential.

The larger picture, however, needs to be taken into consideration when the
scale of involvement reaches the numbers it has reached in China. 30
million people, moving within the Universal consiousness, being in harmony
with that Universal consciousness _HAVE_ the Love and Blessings of the
Universe - and those who go against them, - go against the Universe as
well. To me - it is strange that such obvious things aren't understood in
their proper context.

To be more 'practical' about it, - it is precisely that kind of pressure
from the Government that precipitated Mao's revolution itself. Another
words, those communists that are now suppressing the Spirit, - themselves
were that Spirit behind a common idea once, - and they probably know that
it is very difficult to suppress the Spirit. Stalin and Mao tried - and
they never could. I don't see how this isn't obvious. When people are
stripped of all hopes of personal dignity, afforded to them by the society
in which they live, - which has turned out to be the sorry consequence of
the communist (and otherwise) dictatorships, - they have nothing to go back
to, - but their own Spirit, - and those who relate to that Spirit the way
they do, - that, technically, is how Love comes about. When it is Love, -
come hell or high water, - people will go through tortures and
imprisonments - but they will carry on its Spirit. This is just the way it
has always been, - and that is the way it always will be.

The strength of Human conviction is in the action of the Spirit. T'ai-Chi
has always been the action of the Spirit. He or she who has ever marveled
at the way the trees and birds are talking in the morning Sun, - or the
flight of a butterfly - a creature of the changing wind, - or the floating
of the lotus-flower upon the surface of a lake, - would understand what I
am talking about. To us, - it is the breath of that Spirit, that determines
the quality of our Reality. The way a T'ai-Chi master understands the world
in and around him or her *creates* a natural harmony in the field in and
around him or her. They heal be mere presence. These people, - are national
treasures, - and, indeed - Universal. Why would anyone in the right mind
ever persecute them? That, I suppose, is a puzzle even Lao-Tzu wouldn't be
able to explain away. Or, maybe, he would. He was a wise man, that Master.

Cheers,

Gene.

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From: "Katharina Bless" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: FWD Alert: Animal poisoning
Date: Mon, 23 Aug 1999

Dear Jean

I am very happy that this letter about the Animal poisoning spreads out so
well now, we can change the world now, we are going to be strong enough!
Please help us here to promote our first international Congress on "holistic
lifestyle" in Thailand (I had to select very carefully a name that we don't
run into trouble and the Congress will be possible) and Thom Hartmann will
be one of our main speakers about his book "The last hour of ancient
sunlight". We try to educate people here and I will put up a lot of
informations about what's going on in the world, but I have to be
"diplomatic" in the topics, specially for this first congress. I had to
learn a lot in Asia (I am here now 7 years and am originally from
Switzerland).

If this congress is a success the energy pattern here will be
changed, the energy field of consciousness will shift here, young people
are quite open but the system of the tradition is quite difficult.
Please help to promote Silver Dove Congress 2000 - see
http://www.ivu.org/silverdove.

We will also host the Light Link conference from network 2012/PAN organized
by Michael Lightweaver before the Congress.

Thank you so much for the great work you are doing by spreading out all this
information and I will also in future forward them to my groups here in
Thailand.

Love and Peace
Katharina Bless

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From: Catherine Tilley <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Global Healing

My name is Catherine Tilley. I am the founder and executive director of
The Institute for Global Healing. The Institute prints a publication
called The Feminine Voice. Currently this publication is providing a
global vehicle, for the sharing of personal experience, so that we may
learn from the richness of our differences, work together to educate
and empower humanity, end global violence, hoplessness and despair and
heal the earth with our feminine touch. Also in production; The Voice
of the Wise Man; The Voice and Wisdom of the Elders; The voice of Our
Children; The Voice of our Teens; The Voice of our Planet.

We are here to support you and the healing light you continue to send
to us all. Send us your information and mission statement, as well as
any information you feel must be shared with the world in order to
expedite the process of global healing.

In order to begin healing globally, we must first have a vision; see
our planet and it peoples as it was intended to be; clearly see the
goal and believe that it can be achieved.

The reason I am contacting you is because we need your help. It is time
to manifest the vision! Empower our natural abilities to create miracles!

Would you please answer and present to your network the following two
questions and ask that they respond to [EMAIL PROTECTED]

1. In detail, how do you picture a "perfect world", the world at its
best, your greatest desire for ourselves, our children, our global
communities, our planet?

2. What action do you feel is needed in order to "begin" global
healing?

I thank you for your immediate response and I wish you days overflowing
with laughter and magical moments! :)

Catherine Tilley
Institute for Global Healing
8880 Rio San Diego Dr., 8th floor
San Diego, Ca. 92108  USA
Tel (619)286-4503 Fax (619)585-8230

AND MY RESPONSE WAS:

Dear Catherine

First my apology for the one week delay in responding. I have a hard time
keeping up with the continuous inflow of attention and time-demanding
requests and information from an average of 40 to 50 people each day.

Thank you for your information about The Institute for Global Healing and
for your interest in our work. I've just include your email in a
forthcoming series of feedbacks. I would *love* to have time to answer your
2 excellent questions in details but I doubt I'll find it anytime soon. I
guess it is by doing what I've been doing on a regular basis over the
course of the last 20 years that I can best contribute to healing this
world. To me action speaks louder than words. May I also recommend you read
the document Pathways to Unity which I wrote and posted at:
http://www.cybernaute.com/earthconcert2000/Pathways.htm
as it will give you many insights as to how a "perfect world" or what I
prefer to call a "much better world" could come about.

If you could understand French you would also have the option of reading a
30 page document on the Awakening of Consciousness (L'�veil de la
conscience) also posted on my site.

I've also written in 1986 an ecospiritual novel entitled The Immortal Child
which could prove to be a most interesting read with regard to your search
for inspiring visions of our future - just tell me if you are interested to
get it - go at the bottom of
http://www.cybernaute.com/earthconcert2000/IntroInfo.htm if you want to see
what the cover of The Immortal Child looks like - a picture is worth a
thousand words. One last thing. As I already mentioned in a recent email,
most people who have done a progression (instead of looking in the past as
in a guided "regression", people are lead with an appropriate guided
visualization to explore the future of this world) came back with wonderful
visions of a world that is back to its pristine natural virginity, where
humans live harmoniously with each other and all other life forms, their
entire existence being focussed on divine spiritual pursuits. I also happen
to believe that's where we are headed despite all current contradicting
evidences.

Looking forward to hear from you again

Jean Hudon
Earth Rainbow Network Coordinator
http://www.cybernaute.com/earthconcert2000

P.S. May I also suggest you visit this website above and read some of the
material posted to the Earth Rainbow Network emailing list and linked at
the bottom of the first webpage. Check also the Earth Proclamation and the
rest of this Millennium Gathering website.
The Earth Rainbow Network, founded in February 1997, has an extensive list
of nearly 1500 people in more than 50 countries sharing information,
visions and feedbacks on a broad range of subjects as a way to expand and
deepen global awareness and the sense of forming a global spiritual
community gradually empowering itself to contribute in shaping the future
of this world.

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Date: Fri, 27 Aug 1999
From: Sharon Mullane <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Thank You

Dear Jean,

A heartfelt thanks for your e-mail/newsletters.  You are providing a
wonderful service to humanity.  I always look forward to your e-mails.
They are inspiring, informative and at times a call to action.  Through
them, I am experiencing a special connection to the greater spiritual
community on our beautiful planet, Gaia.

Blessings and Peace,
Sharon Mullane
Los Angeles

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From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Thu, 26 Aug 1999
Subject: hi Jean, you used my material

Hi Jean,

Thank you for the work you are doing.

I notice you used my material in a recent newsletter, but did not include my
contact information which was at the bottom of my article on Steven Greer.

Would you be willing to include the following information in your next
newsletter?

Randy Peyser, who interviewed Steven Greer, has many articles of profound
interest on her web site, including interviews with: James Twyman, Neale
Donald Walsch, Caroline Myss, Bernie Siegel, James Van Praagh, Dannion
Brinkley, the producers of the movie, "What Dreams May Come," and many, many
more.  Go to: http://members.aol.com/rpeyser

Jean, would you please contact me first if you wish to run any of the
interviews on my site in your newsletter?  Some haven't been published yet
and those aren't for newsletters until they've first been sold, but many are
available.  Just let me know if you'd like to use any of them!

All the best to you.

Sincerely,

Randy Peyser

Note from Jean: I gave a look at some of Randy's interviews tonight and
they are a great read!

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From: "steve diamond" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Fw: Scientists warn of mass plant/animal extinctions
Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999

Hi Jean -- thought you'd like to see this from Ron Anastasia -- he was at
the Earth Rainbow Network meeting briefly. He's involved with Paolo Soleri
and the Arcosanti project in the desert.   Best wishes,  Steve

From: Ron Anastasia <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>

Hello Folks,

While I agree that it's important to focus on what's working in the world,
I  also think a balanced perspective requires monitoring of potentially
serious  negative feedback loops. Ignoring them is like not having pain
receptors; we  obviously need their warning signals to alert us to pull our
fingers back  from hot surfaces, to treat local infections before they
spread, etc.

Warm regards,

Ron Anastasia

HUMANKIND'S GRAVE IMPACTS ON THE NATURAL WORLD

"The current extinction rate is now approaching 1,000 times the background
("normal") rate and may climb to 10,000 times the background rate during
the  next century if present trends continue ..."

More than 4,000 scientists from 100 countries, meeting at the Sixteenth
International Botanical Congress in St. Louis, Missouri in late July, have
sounded an urgent warning: Human activity is gravely impacting the natural
world, leading toward a mass extinction of plant and animal species that
will  rival the greatest extinction events of geological history.

According to papers issued by Congress participants on August 2, the "human
footprint on Earth" has gravely altered the chemistry, biology and
physical  structure of the planet's land and water. Data show that nearly
half of the  Earth's total land surface has been changed by human activity,
and some 50  "dead zones" (areas with little or no oxygen) have developed
in the Earth's  coastal waters.

The latest findings, analyzed by Drs. Jane Lubchenco of Oregon State
University and Harold A. Mooney and Peter M. Vitousek of Stanford
University, show a "disturbing negative trend in the Earth's ability to
maintain the  quality of human life."

At the same time, between one-third and two-thirds of all plant and animal
species now living will become extinct during the second half of the next
century if current trends continue, according to a paper released by
International Botanical Congress president Dr. Peter Raven, a world leader
in  plant conservation.

"Human efforts have been notable for their lack of attention to the living
world that supports us all," said Raven. "In the face of the worldwide
extinction crisis, we should redouble our efforts to learn about life on
Earth while it is still relatively well represented."

Scientists believe there have been five great extinction episodes since
life  first appeared on the Earth more than 3.5 billion years ago. In each
case, as  much as 80 percent of all then-living species were wiped out
within a few  decades or centuries. In the most recent case, 65 million
years ago, it is  believed a giant asteroid slammed into the Earth, causing
one of the greatest  of all extinction events including the disappearance
of the dinosaurs.

But, according to Raven, the present extinction episode -- entirely induced
by human activity -- could be similar in scope. The current extinction rate
is now approaching 1,000 times the background ("normal") rate and may climb
to 10,000 times the background rate during the next century if present
trends continue, he said.

Among the chief causes of species extinction is forest loss, particularly
the  destruction of tropical forests in South America and Africa. If the
world only manages to retain five percent of tropical forests in protected
areas, which will be true within 50 years at present rates of destruction,
then one-third to two-thirds of all species of plants, animals, and other
organisms would be lost during the second half of the next century, the
Congress paper said.

Thus far, scientists say, only about 1.6 million organisms out of a
conservative estimate of between seven and 10 million have been identified,
and vast numbers of plants, animals, and other organisms are currently
being lost before they've even been discovered.

Raven noted that only a coordinated international effort could slow the
extinction of the world's plants and animals. Inasmuch as most of the
world's  threatened animals are dependent upon forests, he stressed the
urgent need to  monitor threats to the world's plantlife. Raven advocates
establishing a new  coordinating body through the United Nations or one of
its constituent  organizations to monitor the status of plants throughout
the world, detecting  those most in danger and taking steps to conserve
them.

Dr. Lubchenco, a Distinguished Professor of Zoology at Oregon State
University, emphasized other factors that show the grave impacts of human
activity.

Close to 50 percent of the land surface of the planet has been transformed
by  humans, such as filling in wetlands, converting tall grass prairies
into  cornfields, or converting forests into urban areas. Humans have more
than  doubled the amount of available nitrogen in the environment because
of excess  fertilizer use and burning of fossil fuel. The year 1998 was
Earth's hottest  on record, as human activities continue to increase the
concentrations of  carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases in the
atmosphere.

Lubchenco pointed out that while human domination of land masses is clear,
the new data also indicates a dramatic alteration of Earth's oceans. There
are now some 50 "dead zones" in the world's coastal areas, she reported.
The largest in the Western Hemisphere is in the Gulf of Mexico, caused by
excess nitrogen and phosphorus flowing down the Mississippi River.

"We've long thought of oceans as having an infinite ability to provide food
and other goods and services to humans. But the massive human-wrought
changes in our oceans are impairing their ability to function as we assume
they will," stated Lubchenco.

"We're degrading the water, changing our coastlines, filling in our
estuaries, and changing our rivers," she said. "And we're witnessing many
signals of the problems that will result from these changes, including
toxic algal blooms, coral bleaching and sudden disappearance of fish from
key fisheries."

The global-scale changes that human beings have set in motion will impair
the  Earth's ability to provide a wide range of services to human life,
Lubchenco  said. For example, forests, grassland and coral reefs contribute
to flood  control and climate regulation. Mangroves, estuaries, coral
reefs, and kelp  forests protect shores from erosion and provide nursery
areas or spawning  habitat for economically important species.

Massive changes in the Earth's environment also result in human conflicts
across political boundaries. "Scarce resources such as water or fishing
rights lead to battles between states and nations. Environmental
degradation resulting in food shortages lead to civil unrest and migration
into neighboring countries," Lubchenco said. "The dramatic rise in human
population simply exacerbates the problems," she added, noting that the
number of people on Earth has doubled from 3 to 6 billion in less than 40
years.

Lubchenco did see some hope in the fact that "there is an increasing focus
on  the part of the private sector, religious groups, and individual
citizens to  take responsibility and undertake innovative action.

"As inhabitants of Earth, we need to take stock of these massive changes,
understand their implications, and change our direction," she said. "We are
currently inattentive stewards. It is in our best interests to be more
fully  engaged in ensuring our own health, prosperity and well-being."

Copyright 1999

The 2020 Group
G L O B A L   S I T U A T I O N   R E P O R T
Vol.1 No.15 - August 10, 1999 - Part 1

Global Situation Report is a twice-monthly electronic journal addressing
events and trends that shape the human future, edited by Michael Lindemann
and distributed by the 2020 Group.

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Visit us at http://www.gsreport.com/

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