Climate in Crisis: Mother Nature’s Urgent Warnings and Escalating Disasters, Part 2 of a Multi-part Series

Today, let’s look at some of the droughts in South, Central, and North America and learn about their effects. One of the most concerning droughts is in the Amazon River basin in South America. Food and drink, even transport. But it's experienced its worst drought on record. Its rivers, lakes, and streams drying up. “We have never had this drought with this proportion before. We have never seen it. Not... not... not in the history. It gets dry, but not at the level it is now.” Another current problem is that the Amazon River's water temperature is so high that aquatic life is dying. Recently, the corpses of 100 endangered river dolphin-people were found washed up on its shores. Besides drought, the Amazon rainforest faces another severe threat: deforestation. Between 80%-90% of the deforestation is done to raise animal-people livestock. This process is pushing the Amazon rainforest even more quickly to its tipping point.

Severe drought in Colombia is wreaking havoc on the country's water resources, threatening agriculture and people's food security. The extreme conditions also sparked widespread forest fires. In January 2024, Colombia’s President, His Excellency Gustavo Petro, declared a “situation of disaster and calamity,” calling for international help to fight the fires that had destroyed more than 17,000 hectares since November. In February 2024, Chile’s President, declared a state of emergency when wildfires engulfed the Valparaiso region. The Panama Canal is directly threatened by climate change. Many worry that the drought could result in even further restrictions, causing longer shipping delays and higher prices for goods.

Our Most Gracious Supreme Master Ching Hai (vegan), has spoken frequently about global warming and its root cause: the animal-people livestock industry. “It takes up to 1,200 gallons of fresh and good clean water to produce just one serving of beef. In contrast, a full vegan meal costs only 98 gallons of water. That is like 90-plus percent less. So, if we want to stop water shortage and to preserve precious water, we have to stop animal products.”