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Oceans at risk

The climate emergency has revealed yet another serious environmental problem, the decrease in oxygen in the oceans which is happening at an unprecedented rate. There are now “dead zones”  and hundreds more areas showing oxygen dangerously depleted.

Large fish species are particularly at risk, with many ecosystems in danger of collapse. Dead zones have quadrupled in extent over the 50 years, and there are also at least 700 areas where oxygen is at dangerously low levels, up from only 45 in the 1960s.

These findings were presented by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature at the UN climate conference in Madrid. Protecting marine life could help the oceans to function better, soaking up more carbon and providing barriers against sea level rises and storm surges, in the form of coral reefs and mangrove swamps.

 

Honey

We have just finished the honey season with our bees and have a modest amount of heather honey – the best for many years – and a good amount of flower honey from earlier in the season. The bees are a very good barometer of the weather as they only fly (and therefore gather pollen and nectar) when the weather is pretty good. Unlike bumble bees they stay inside when it’s raining. And every year the bees do something unexpected so that as a beekeeper, you never stop learning.

One of my bee photos has now been produced as a greeting card in the new Cherish the Earth card series. The theme of the cards is to highlight the global environment through photography, and specially written quotations by His Holiness the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, the head of the Karma Kagyu lineage and one of the most eminent figures in Tibetan Buddhism. The Karmapa is well known for his interest and commitment to environmental issues, as well as social justice for all. There are twelve cards in the series, ranging from honeybees to Himalayan mountains, wildlife to oceans.

Cherish the Earth

This new range of greetings cards succeeds the Cherish the Earth calendars which were produced in 2014 and 2015.  The theme of the cards is the same – to highlight the global environment through photography, with quotations from His Holiness the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, head of the Karma Kagyu lineage and one of the most eminent figures in Tibetan Buddhism. The Karmapa is well known for his interest and commitment to environmental issues, as well as social justice for all.  He frequently highlights the issues in his teachings and life’s work. He founded the Khoryug movement and annual conference to develop sustainable and environmentally responsible policies in Buddhist communities and monasteries in the Himalayas.  “The environmental emergency that we face is not just a scientific issue, nor is it just a political issue. It is also a moral issue.”

There are twelve cards in the series, ranging from honeybees to Himalayan mountains, wildlife to oceans, and there has been a wonderful response since publication. They are also available from the shops at Kagyu Samye Ling, near Eskdalemuir, Scotland, and Kagyu Samye Dzong London.

Ice floes in the Arctic Ocean to the north of Svalabard.