 (NaturalNews) I've struggled all week with the question of how I can best help the victims of the recent natural disasters that have devastated populations in China and Myanmar. It is not a simple matter to ponder. How can people in North America (or other western nations) offer remote help to those who live in regions that have been struck by these natural disasters?
What is the appropriate response from us, sitting here in our "rich" nations, in the comfort of a chair, while we stare at images on our screen that could be from Myanmar, China, Zimbabwe or anywhere, really. Does any of it hit home for us? Do we dare even attempt to experience the magnitude of human suffering taking place in faraway lands that we'll probably never visit anyway and that we often have no real connection with?
Those of us who feel a strong sense of compassion for human beings -- which includes virtually all NaturalNews readers, by the way -- intuitively feel we must do something. But what can we do, exactly? We cannot bring people what they really need: Water, food, blankets... comfort. Even if we tried to go there, we probably could not physically get to the people who need our help the most. You can't just show up in Myanmar and get unrestricted access to disaster zones simply by saying, "I want to help." The authorities there would send you home.
As it turns out, the most effective thing most of us can really do right now is to send money to the right groups who already have organizations on the ground, working to provide lifesaving essentials to the victims of these natural disasters. That's why I've decided to donate $10,000 to the victims of these recent disasters in China and Myanmar. I have donated $5,000 to the rescue efforts in China, and another $5,000 to the efforts for the cyclone victims in Myanmar.
I've made these donations to a group that's on the front lines, engaged in crucial, person-to-person rescue efforts: Tzu-Chi (http://www.tzuchi.org/global)
Tzu-Chi is a Buddhist organization made up almost entirely of volunteer workers. Nearly 100% of the donated funds go directly to support the people who desperately need essentials like food, water, medical care, a bed to sleep in and a shoulder to lean on.
If you're looking to do something to help these victims in Myanmar or China, I encourage you to consider making a donation to Tzu-Chi at: http://www.tzuchi.org/global
It is ultimately the way I've decided I can best help this immediate situation. Of course, I've also recorded several radio shows this week about Earth's climate and the impact of man's actions on our planet. So I've also spent considerable time this week attempting to educate others about why we desperately need to make changes in the way we treat our planet if we wish to avoid even more so-called "natural" disasters in the future.
And that brings me to this question:
Are these natural disasters really "natural?"Another question comes to mind when considering the events that have taken place here. Are all these so-called natural disasters really "natural" in the first place? Certainly, earthquakes, cyclones, hurricanes, tsunamis and other disasters have occurred from time to time on our planet, even long before humans came along and starting disturbing the climate, but one thing I've noticed in the last six years or so is an apparent acceleration of climate-related disasters.
Could it be that human behavior on our planet -- the poisoning of the air, the oceans, the land, the disruption of ecosystems and much more -- has put in motion an acceleration of climate-related disasters that are now striking populations in China, Myanmar and other regions? In other words, is our man-made disruption of the planet now resulting in a backlash of natural disasters?
If so, they should not be called "natural" disasters at all. They should be called "man-made disasters." If global warming accelerates in the years ahead, for example, and ocean levels continue rising, then when the coastal cities of the world are flooded, wouldn't it be incorrect to refer to those events as "natural" disasters? The rising of the oceans is clearly a man-made disaster, since it was put into motion by our own actions.
Could earthquakes also be impacted by human activity? I am not aware of any particular mechanism by which human activity could directly cause or aggravate earthquakes, but I do know this: Human activity is deeply intertwined with every system and cycle on our planet... often in ways we do not understand. Every action we take -- from detonating nuclear bombs in oceans and underground testing chambers (which the U.S. military has done numerous times), to HAARP weather control experiments -- has an unintended consequence. And many of those consequences, we are learning, can be quite catastrophic.
Preventing tomorrow's disasters means changing our ways todaySo while it is important to help those fellow human beings who have been harmed by natural disasters today, it is even more important to pursue a path of planetary change that can help reduce the frequency and intensity of similar "natural" disasters in the future. There is no question that man-made climate change is now altering weather patterns and contributing to floods, hurricanes, droughts and tornadoes. What I'm wondering is this: How much damage will we endure before we wake up and realize this is largely self-inflicted?
The planet, after all, is simply responding to things we have unwittingly unleashed through an unprecedented campaign of pollution and alteration of atmospheric chemistry. We should not be surprised in the least that the effects of our actions would lead to more radical weather patterns, crop failures, famines, infectious disease outbreaks and the like.
As much as the loss of life in the China and Myanmar is emotionally devastating, these events are but tiny blips on the radar compared to the planetary backlash that may be coming. The population correction that's on its way over the next century, due to famine, disease, soil failures, crop failures, fresh water scarcity, climate change, and other similar causes, could result in the loss of a billion human lives on our planet. It is that level of disaster that I hope we can somehow avoid by pursuing radical changes in CO2 emissions, reductions in the manufacture of toxic chemicals, agricultural reforms, ending genetic pollution through GM crops, and other such areas of concern.
Yes, the death of 150,000 people today in China and Myanmar is a massive human tragedy. And yes, we would be right to help those individuals in any way we can right now. But we must not lose sight of the much greater disasters that yet await our human civilization if we do not act decisively to end our rampant destruction of our planet's stabilizing ecosystems. If China, the United States and other prominent polluters of the world do not take immediate action to reverse the rise in carbon dioxide emissions and bring our planet back from the threshold of runaway climatic disaster, we are going to be facing centuries of disasters that make today's China quake death toll seem insignificant by comparison.
What's at stake here, friends, is nothing less than the future of human life on our planet. It is more fragile than you think, and it is endlessly frustrating to realize that the majority of human beings insist on pursuing a path that will inevitably lead to their own destruction.
So please, help those in need today, but don't lose sight of the far more significant goal of preventing the potential collapse of human civilization in the not-so-distant future. We may be able to save a young child from the rubble of a collapsed building in China today, but can we save ourselves from the collapse of a global ecosystem that simply refuses to support the size of the human population that now desperately inhabits the planet?
###
About the author: Mike Adams is a consumer health advocate with a strong interest in personal health, the environment and the power of nature to help us all heal He has authored more than 1,500 articles and dozens of reports, guides and interviews on natural health topics, reaching millions of readers with information that is saving lives and improving personal health around the world. Adams is a trusted, independent journalist who receives no money or promotional fees whatsoever to write about other companies' products. In 2007, Adams launched EcoLEDs, a manufacturer of mercury-free, energy-efficient LED lighting products that save electricity and help prevent global warming. He also launched an online retailer of environmentally-friendly products (BetterLifeGoods.com) and uses a portion of its profits to help fund non-profit endeavors. He's also a noted technology pioneer and founded a software company in 1993 that developed the HTML email newsletter software currently powering the NaturalNews subscriptions. Adams also serves as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a non-profit consumer protection group, and regularly pursues cycling, nature photography, Capoeira and Pilates. Known as the 'Health Ranger,' Adams' personal health statistics and mission statements are located at www.HealthRanger.org
Related Articles
• Bird flu timeline: A history of influenza from 412 BC – AD 2006
• The latest U.S. health safety distraction ploy: Blame China!
• Coal emissions blanket China with pollution
• China claims no internet censorship whatsoever
• China to become world's top emitter of greenhouse gases
 |
Additional Resources:
china
natural disasters
climate change
|
Take Action: Support NaturalNews.com
 Email this article to a friend
 Share this article on: NewsVine | digg | del.icio.us
Permalink to this article: http://www.NaturalNews.com/023251.html
Reprinting this article: Non-commercial OK, cite NaturalNews.com with clickable link.
|
 |
 |
Receive our Natural Health Newsletter for FREE
 Subscribe now (it's free!) to win. We randomly choose a subscriber each month to send $100 in eco-home products or a RealGoods.com gift certificate (our choice). Plus, you'll receive FREE news, articles and action alerts from NaturalNews.com editors and join over 800,000 monthly readers who report extraordinary health improvements after becoming a subscriber!
- Receive breaking news alerts on natural health solutions, renewable energy, the environment, global warming and more.
- Receive a free instant download of our $29 Secret Sources guide that reveals top sources for little-known health and diet solutions.
|
|
 |
 |
Recommended Special Report:
 Seven Words that can Change the World
by Joseph R. Simonetta
Read this special report now...
"Seven Words That Can Change the World reveals the astonishing, simple truths that have the power to forever transform our world for the better while freeing our minds from the enslavement of limiting beliefs. This is not a text for the simple-minded; it is a guiding philosophy for the mindful, intelligent few who are wise enough to seek out -- and recognize -- the higher simplicities of truly purposeful living." - Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, editor of NaturalNews.com
|
More on NaturalNews.com:
• Streaming Health Ranger Videos
• CounterThink Cartoons
• FREE Special Reports
• Podcasts
|
 |
|
 |
 |
NEW 6-CD audio set reveals amazing new protocol for reversing cancer, diabetes, obesity, heart disease and more. Click to learn more. |
 |
Own the first 8 Health Ranger Report audio programs on 6 CDs. Covers weight loss, ADHD, vaccinations, processed meats, bone health and more. Click to learn more. |
Featured Videos
Short clip on Aspartame
A short clip on aspartame from the documentary All Jacked Up.
Click here to view now...
Exclusive video on Aspartame
The dangers of aspartame! Exclusive interview footage from Cori Brackett of Sweet Remedy.
Click here to view now...
Exclusive Footage from All Jacked Up!
See interview footage featuring the Health Ranger in the upcoming junk food film, All Jacked Up.
Click here to view now...
Drug Ad Parody
See the Health Ranger's satire parody of Merck's cholesterol drug ad.
Click here to view now... |
Pirates of the West
China's FDA solution
New Warfare
|
|
Read recommendations on supplement companies, health food manufacturers and personal care product makers that you can trust. Our 100% independent review list tells you who to trust and who to avoid in the natural health industry. Click to read. |
|
Printable Version
