An unwelcomed "second spring"

On the same day, two news stories from two different parts of the world reported different pieces of evidence that point to the same conclusion - that the Earth is really getting warmer.

The first story, from the BBC, reported that a US scientific group has found the same warming trend seen by the world's three most important and established groups. Using data from 40,000 weather stations around the world and developing a new way of analyzing the data to plot the global temperature trend over land since 1800, the Berkeley Earth Project produced a graph which was remarkably similar to those produced by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the US and the Met Office of the UK. 

"Our biggest surprise was that the new results agreed so closely with the warming values published previously by other teams in the US and the UK," said project leader Professor Richard Muller of the University of California.

The second story, from a local paper, reported the various observations of C.Y. Lam, former director of the Hong Kong Observatory, that are clear indications of global warming. He talked about how the high temperature of 28 degrees celsius in October has induced trees to have a "second spring", bearing flowers and lush green leaves instead of ones with darker colours at this time of the year. "The trees have got it wrong," said Lam. "They cannot distinguish spring and autumn." The growth of trees in forests have also "moved upwards" from the slopes of hills to the peaks. Lam expects the such modification to deteriorate and affect other species. As eco balance cannot be maintained, humans will suffer.

While the issue of global warming has been raised for decades, many people, especially those who seek to maintain their extravagant way of living, challenge its magnitude or even deny its existence. As more compelling evidence are becoming available, not least the various calamitous natural disasters that arise from the extreme global climatic conditions, the global citizens have to face up to the facts and seek immediate remedies. The situation may still be reverted before the tipping point is hit, but we would have to act fast.

A "panoramic life review"

The experience of coming back from the brink of death as recounted by CY Lam in the seminar I referred to two days ago is not uncommon. The following passage from the book The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying talks about something similar:

"...how much have we really understood about life and death? I have been inspired by the reports that have appeared in the studies on the near death experience... A striking number of those who survive near-fatal accidents or a near-death experience describe a "panoramic life review." With uncanny vividness and accuracy, they relive the events of their lives... Sometimes the life review takes place in the company of a glorious presence, a "being of light." What stands out from the various testimonies is that this meeting with the "being" reveals that the only truly serious goals in life are "learning to love other people and acquiring knowledge." One person recounted...: "When the light appeared, the first thing he said to me was, 'What have you done to show me that you've done with your life?'... All through this, he kept stressing the importance of love... He seemed very interested in things concerning knowledge too..." Another man [said]: "I was asked... 'What had I done to benefit or advance the human race?'"

The tick that Mr CY Lam found himself deserving could then be the outcome of having loved other people, acquired knowledge or helped advance the human race in his lifetime, or a combination of these.

Would we get a tick like Mr Lam when we die or would we not? Maybe we should pay attention to how Sogyal Rinpoche the writer summed up the point and make a wise choice today:

"Whatever we have done with our lives makes us what we are when we die. And everything, absolutely everything counts."