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SAVE OUR PLANET… Wildfires in Russia heighten nuclear disaster risk. Triggered by the country’s
worst heat wave in over a century, forest and peat bog fires in Russia continue to blaze,
with over 50 lives that have been lost so far and thousands of people homeless. In the
capital city of Moscow, smoke from the fires has quadrupled carbon monoxide levels and
seriously impaired residents’ breathing, causing hundreds to seek medical attention
with flights that have been disrupted as well. As the flames most recently moved south of
Moscow, they have approached the area of the calamitous 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident.
Russian Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoygu said that if the fires keep spreading into
the Bryansk region of the Chernobyl site, the radionuclide and combustible gases that
had been buried underground may be released, thus forming a new dangerous pollution zone.
Experts estimate that the 1986 Chernobyl disaster caused up to half a million fatalities in
and around Russia due to cancers with other contamination effects being seen to this day.
Considered the worst nuclear accident in history, the Chernobyl event 20 years ago also influenced
other countries’ policies. A referendum in Italy, for example, resulted in the shut-down
of its nuclear industry at the time, while countries such as Germany and Denmark boosted
efforts to develop safer sustainable energy resources like wind power.
With our sadness for the lives lost, we thank the Russian government and all the courageous
firefighters for your efforts to contain the flames safely. Our prayers for the blessing
of cool showers that help restore stability for residents across the land and that such
disasters are averted through our harmonious, life-protecting ways. (*)
During a 2008 videoconference in South Korea, Supreme Master Ching Hai spoke of the range
of environmental problems faced by humanity, highlighting at the same time practical solutions
for a secure future.
Videoconference with Supreme Master Ching Hai
Seoul, Korea – May 22, 2008
Supreme Master Ching Hai: Against this kind of great upheaval of calamities, the only
refuge that we can take is in Heaven’s grace, by being virtuous, by being compassionate,
then we can be saved.
Otherwise, even if we dig a hole into the mountain or under the ground to stay away
from the sun’s heat, or we go up in the mountain to avoid the sea rising, there are
other calamities that will be coming our way.
The root of our problem is that we have been unkind to our co-inhabitants. And we have
also been unkind to our environment. So, in order to solve the problem that we are facing
right now, we have to reverse our actions. We have to be kind to our co-inhabitants.
Instead of killing them, massacring them, sacrificing them, we have to take care of
them. And instead of polluting our planet, the air, we have to turn to friendly energy
and sustainable energy. Just reverse our actions.
Vegetarian diet number one, green energy number two, everybody work together to be frugal,
and protect the environment and the animals�