"We have passed the tipping points, but, we have not passed a point of no return. We can still roll things back in time but it is going to require a quick turn in direction."
-- Dr. James Hansen
Top Climatologist of NASA

Many people are aware that global warming has serious implications for all life on our planet. Animal farming, the burning of fossil fuels by factories, power stations, cars and other forms of transport release huge amounts of gases such as carbon dioxide and methane. These gases create a "green house" effect by trapping the Sun's heat and warming our planet and atmosphere. However, few people know of the immediate effect that this is having on our Earth. Did you know that from September 3 to 9, 2007, (in just 6 days) 69,000 square miles of Arctic ice melted and disappeared? That's a piece of ice the size of the state of Florida, USA. The American space agency, NASA, recently revealed satellite images showing that this summer alone, 552 billion tons of ice had melted from the Greenland ice sheet. NASA climate scientist Jay Zwally said, "At this rate, the Arctic Ocean could be nearly ice-free at the end of summer 2012, much faster than previous predictions."

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with US former Vice-President Al Gore, is bringing attention to this critical situation. On Tuesday, January 15, IPCC Chairman, Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, announced at a press conference the urgency of the matter and stated that "lifestyle changes" are one thing that can halt climate change. His message was loud and clear: Don't eat meat, ride a bike, and be a frugal shopper -- that's how you can help put the brake on global warming.

Robert Correll, a scientist who chairs the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, said, "If there is no ice, the ocean is going to continue to heat, and that is going to accelerate the global warming process." In fact, according to research from University of Washington's Michael Steele, summer surface temperatures of the Arctic Ocean are the highest ever in recorded history, with some places being 8 degrees Fahrenheit above normal.

The melting of the polar ice caps and the consequent warming of the Earth's seas could have very serious ramifications according to John Atcheson, a geologist who has headed various government agencies. According to his research, 400,000 million tons of methane gas are trapped in ice structures beneath the ocean floors, which might be released into the atmosphere if the water's temperature increases by a few degrees. This could be disastrous because methane is 20 times stronger than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas. So, if this massive amount of trapped methane were to be released in to the atmosphere, it would likely cause run-away global warming with devastating consequences for our planet.

In a press conference on January 15, held by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the head of the IPCC, Dr. Pachuari warned that if the human race doesn't act now, "climate change will have serious impacts." He also clearly stated that the way to halt climate change is to stop eating meat, and make a change to a greener lifestyle.

Industrialized animal-based agriculture is "astonishingly" the main cause of environmental destruction and greenhouse gas emissions.

Raising animals for food is one of the largest sources of carbon dioxide and the single largest source of both methane and nitrous oxide emissions. The livestock sector accounts for 9 percent of carbon dioxide, 65 percent of nitrous oxide and 37 percent of methane produced from human-related activities. Both methane (20 times) and nitrous oxide (296 times) are considerably more potent greenhouse gases than carbon dioxide. Livestock also generates 64 percent of human-related ammonia, which contributes to acid rain.