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In his address to the Parliament, Solomon Islands Minister for Environment, Conservation, and Meteorology, Gordon Darcy Lilo, outlined several ways climate change is affecting the island nation. Among the examples he gave were the decline of agricultural production, coastal erosion, and islands sinking or being overrun by seawater. Minister Lilo stated that decisions made by the government must take into account climate change so as to lessen its impact.

http://solomontimes.com/news.aspx?nwID=1549, http://www.abc.net.au/ra/news/stories/200803/s2203723.htm?tab=pacific

Global warming could lead to mass migration.

Recent research by Greenpeace has concluded that rising sea levels, diminishing water supplies, and altering monsoon seasons due to climate change could lead to 125 million Southeast Asians becoming homeless by the turn of the century. In addition, the United Nations Development Program has noted that changes in climate would most adversely affect developing nations, increasing disease risk and causing large population migrations.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008%5C03%5C31%5Cstory_31-3-2008_pg6_20

Swiss glacier melt accelerating from global warming.

Many of the 1,800 glaciers of Switzerland are melting at a rate of more than 3% per year. The largest ones are retreating by dozens of meters per year, while the annual thaw rates of others are doubling and tripling. The World Glacier Monitoring Service, supported by the United Nations, says the cause of the relentless melting is climate change.


(In English)
Swiss citizen: It’s really a minute till midnight, so we have to do something. I live in Switzerland, and there all the glaciers come down and the climate change and it gets very, very dry in the summer. And it’s really terrible.

VOICE: As evaporating water is a serious problem throughout Europe, Swiss citizens may soon face a water shortage and even droughts. Similar phenomena of glacier loss are being measured in other Europe and other countries. Billions of people worldwide depend on glaciers for drinking water, agriculture, industry and power generation. ]]> http://www.astabali.com/blog/?entry=entry080404-073542 Udana Fri, 04 Apr 2008 07:35:42 GMT http://www.astabali.com/blog/comments.php?y=08&m=04&entry=entry080404-073542 http://www.astabali.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry070708-130525
Why it is so important for Balinese?
Ngaben is the biggest debt to our ancestors and it is necessary to be done by the next generation to show our respect to them. Our body is the biggest gift from our parent and as well as love and care from them since we were baby till we found our way in life, is all because of their care and love given to children without any demand and expectation to get back what they have given to them because for them this is their duty as a parent to accompany and to lead them to the best way possible in life their children can achieve.

What about the children, what is their duty?
Their duty is to make sure that they are good children. Because we believe by being a good child we can make our parent happy physically and spiritually. Our positive energy and merry will also help them to liberate their soul into higher consciousness from wherever they are, and because also we believe only the family or their direct generation can help their ancestors to achieve the higher consciousness or to be liberated from the low level of realization.
That is the reason why ngaben is very important for Balinese in order for us to pay the biggest debt and help them to be liberated if they are in any low consciousness.

Why it is so important for tourists to visit Bali?
Ngaben is most colorful ritual of Balinese and this is a ritual used to be done long after death and now we can see this ritual done at any time. Because this is unscheduled event makes it difficult for the tourist to plan their visit to Bali to see the cremation. Also during this event we can see society yelling and screaming the time when they are carrying the death body to the cemetery during the procession of ngaben.

Due to the immense cost and the complicated preparations necessary, group cremation is held in order to share the expense and the labor revolved. Each family builds a large tower of bamboo and paper, extravagantly painted according to the caste and wealth of the deceased, on a large bamboo platform. A magnificent, brightly colored, life size bull "Lembu" is also constructed of bamboo and plaster.

This is a great event not to be miss while a visit to Bali, the day for the mass/ group cremation will be on august 8th, 2007
in Bedulu Village Gianyar Regency. During sightseeing tour in Bali you may ask your tour guide to stop on the way to kintamani or the way to ubud for some time to see the procession of Balinese cremation (ngaben). Or you can easily hire a Bali driver to take you to see this event and he will be very happy to accompany you till the end of the program.

Whatever you choose to do and see in Bali enjoy your vacation in Bali and get the best out of it


]]> http://www.astabali.com/blog/?entry=entry070708-130525 Udana Sun, 08 Jul 2007 13:05:25 GMT http://www.astabali.com/blog/comments.php?y=07&m=07&entry=entry070708-130525 http://www.astabali.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry070527-070939
"When we are pure in our deeds, speech and thought, even for a second, all the deities, the gods, and the guardian angels will support us. At that moment, the entire universe belongs to us and supports us, and the throne is there for us to reign upon."

Not killing or otherwise harming other living creatures is of obvious benefit for them. Less obvious is the fact that refraining from harming others is equally advantageous for ourselves. Why? Because of the law of karma. "As ye sow, so shall ye reap." When you kill, or cause others to kill for you, in order to satisfy your desire for meat, you incur a karmic debt, and this debt must eventually be repaid.

So, in a very real sense, the keeping of a vegetarian diet is a gift which we give to ourselves. We feel better, the quality of our lives improves as the heaviness of our karmic indebtedness diminishes, and we are offered entrance into new subtle and heavenly realms of inner experience. It is well worth the small price you have to pay!

Health and Nutrition
Studies of human evolution have shown that our ancestors were vegetarian by nature. The structure of the human body is not suited for eating meat. This was demonstrated in an essay on comparative anatomy by Dr. G. S. Huntingen of Columbia University. He pointed out that carnivores have short small and large intestines. Their large intestine is characteristically very straight and smooth. In contrast, vegetarian animals have both a long small intestine and a long large intestine. Because of the low fiber content and high protein density of meat, the intestines do not require a long time to absorb nutrients; thus, the intestines of carnivores are shorter in length than those of vegetarian animals.

Humans, like other naturally vegetarian animals, have both a long small and large intestine. Together, our intestines are approximately twenty-eight feet (eight and a half meters) in length. The small intestine is folded back on itself many times, and its walls are convoluted, not smooth. Because they are longer than those found in carnivores, the meat we eat stays in our intestines for a longer period of time. Consequently, the meat can putrefy and create toxins. These toxins have been implicated as a cause of colon cancer, and they also increase the burden on the liver, which has the function of getting rid of toxins. This can cause cirrhosis and even cancer of the liver.

Meat contains a lot of urokinase protein and urea, which add to the burden on the kidneys, and can destroy kidney function. There are fourteen grams of urokinase protein in every pound of steak. If living cells are put into liquid urokinase protein, their metabolic function will degenerate. Furthermore, meat lacks cellulose or fiber, and lack of fiber can easily create constipation. It is known that constipation can cause rectal cancer or piles.

The cholesterol and saturated fats in flesh also create cardiovascular disorders. Cardiovascular disorders are the number one leading cause of death in the United States, and now in Formosa.

Cancer is the second leading cause of death. Experiments indicate that the burning and roasting of flesh creates a chemical element (Methylcholanthrene) which is a powerful carcinogen. Mice given this chemical develop cancers, such as bone tumors, cancer of the blood, cancer of the stomach, etc.

Read Details...]]> http://www.astabali.com/blog/?entry=entry070527-070939 Udana Sun, 27 May 2007 07:09:39 GMT http://www.astabali.com/blog/comments.php?y=07&m=05&entry=entry070527-070939 http://www.astabali.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry070525-021629
We spent a week in a "private villa" in an artistic village in Ubud. It's legal and they are taxed and we were interesting in absorbing the experience, speaking with as many people as possible, and getting a "feel" for life in Ubud, Bali 2007. There was little money for tourist attractions, and adventures, but save some for shopping and so we spent most of our time on the streets, along the Ubud Market and Monkey Forest -- meeting and talking with people. Our location was incredible. We were in a village where local people make their money from making the artworks.

We met people in the village near our villa, they were working people, housewives, children, elderly people, taxi drivers, fishermen, traditional musicians, students of different grades, restaurant waiters, and of course our room maid and her relatives and friends. We saw people were going to go to the temple while carrying offerings and also children were dressed
nicely in traditional costume, the traditional musicians practice their new ideas at the village hall, housewives making offering almost everyday. We also visit one of the schools in Bali we saw students played during break.

We were invited to visit our room maid place to see her brother's wedding. It was one of our best experiences ever to attend wedding in Bali that we never thought of it before how's the Balinese wedding look like. They all seemed very happy and keep on their smile in most cases and we felt very secure around them. Elderly people welcoming all guests, housewives preparing offerings for the wedding and rituals and husbands preparing Balinese food for all guests and young people showing their talent in decorating house of all corners.

We noticed immediately that the one who has talent in doing artwork practices the ability in daily life, that's how they work out and improve their skill and are the way to keep the tradition. We met many tourists when we visited Ubud Street, but not during the wedding party, everyone wanted to know where we were from.

It was a great experience and would like to come back again in the near future and our fellow friends in Bali]]> http://www.astabali.com/blog/?entry=entry070525-021629 Udana Fri, 25 May 2007 02:16:29 GMT http://www.astabali.com/blog/comments.php?y=07&m=05&entry=entry070525-021629