Messages from Our Director
A space for reflections, insights, and thoughts on climate change and the world we share.
These messages come from the heart of Nurtureland — inviting you to pause, reflect, and journey with us.
Director’s Message: Listening to the Earth’s Warnings
As we move into the cooler months, many of us have likely noticed the warmth still lingering in the air. Even now, in May, Australia is experiencing unusually high temperatures and dry conditions across much of the southern half of the country. A recent article titled “It’s almost winter. Why is Australia still so hot?” shed light on this phenomenon—explaining how persistent atmospheric patterns and the clear signals of human-caused climate change are influencing our seasons more than ever.
We find this a sobering but important reminder. The article points to record-breaking warmth in parts of Victoria and Tasmania, and even heat-stressed oceans around our coastlines. These changes are not distant or abstract—they are happening here and now, and they affect the ecosystems we rely on, the food we grow, and the rhythms of daily life.
At Nurtureland, our mission has always been to live more harmoniously with nature—to learn from it, care for it, and in turn, let it care for us. This unusual weather reinforces why our collective choices matter. Embracing a plant-based lifestyle, reducing our footprint, and educating our children with environmental awareness are no longer just good ideas—they are necessary.
We encourage you to read the article, reflect with your families, and think about what small steps we can take together. The earth is speaking; may we continue to listen, respond with care, and walk gently on this shared path.
Director’s Message
January-September 2024 was 1.54±0.13°C above the pre-industrial average.
Following a prolonged La Niña, which is typically associated with a temporary reduction in global temperatures, from late 2020 to the early months of 2023, a strong El Nino event boosted global temperature to record observed levels later in 2023 and through 2024. For 16 consecutive months (June 2023 to September 2024), the global mean exceeded anything recorded before 2023 and often by a wide margin. 2023 and 2024 will be the two warmest years on record, with the latter being on track to be the warmest, making the past 10 years, 2015 to 2024, the warmest ten years in the 175-year observational record.
Vegetarianism plays a significant role in addressing global warming by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The livestock industry is a major contributor to climate change, responsible for a large share of methane and nitrous oxide emissions, which are more potent than carbon dioxide. By shifting to a plant-based diet, individuals can lower the demand for meat and dairy, thereby decreasing the environmental impact associated with animal farming. Additionally, plant-based agriculture generally requires less land, water, and energy, further mitigating deforestation, habitat loss, and resource depletion. Adopting vegetarianism can thus contribute to a more sustainable and climate-resilient food system, helping to combat global warming.
Director’s Message
Some changes (such as droughts, wildfires, and extreme rainfall) are happening faster than scientists previously assessed. In fact, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) — the United Nations body established to assess the science related to climate change — modern humans have never before seen the observed changes in our global climate, and some of these changes are irreversible over the next hundreds to thousands of years.
Scientists have high confidence that global temperatures will continue to rise for many decades, mainly due to greenhouse gases produced by human activities.
The scientific evidence is unequivocal: climate change is a threat to human wellbeing and the health of the planet. Any further delay in concerted global action will miss the brief, rapidly closing window to secure a liveable future.
Director’s Message
World breaks hottest day record again, despite El Nino’s end
As heatwaves sizzled around the world and wildfires engulfed parts of the Mediterranean, Russia and Canada, the global average surface air temperature rose to 17.15 degrees Celsius on Monday (Jul 22). That was 0.06 degrees Celsius higher than Sunday’s record according to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, which has tracked such data since 1940.
Karsten Haustein, a climate scientist at Leipzig University in Germany, said it was “remarkable” that the record had been breached again now with the world well into the neutral phase of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation.
Animal agriculture produces 65% of the world’s nitrous oxide emissions which has a global warming impact 296 times greater than carbon dioxide.
(https://www.colorado.edu/ecenter/2022/03/15/it-may-be-uncomfortable-we-need-talk-about-it-animal-agriculture-industry-and-zero-waste)
Director’s Message
“Never before in the history of Brazil had there been such a quantity of rain in one single location.”
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
The effects of urbanisation and climate change are converging in dangerous ways. Global warming is likely to reach 1.5°C between 2030 and 2052, and approximately 3°C in 2100 based on current national government commitments. This will have disastrous impacts on cities.
Director’s Message
1.2˚C of warming has already resulted in devastating impacts for people and the planet. And these impacts hit some of us harder.
According to the latest IPCC report on Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, around 3.3 to 3.6 billion people live in contexts that are highly vulnerable to climate change. The report also says that 50-75% of the world population can be exposed to periods of “life-threatening climatic conditions” by 2100, especially connected to exacerbated heat and rainfall.
Food production is very negatively impacted by global heating. Grain yields, for example, face a decrease in production. Food insecurity and water shortage can lead to humanitarian crises, conflict and displacement, unequally affecting different areas of the world – disproportionate impacts are being witnessed especially in parts of Africa, Asia, Central and South America, small islands and the Arctic.
1.2°C的升温已经对人类和地球造成了毁灭性的影响。而这些影响对我们中的一些人产生了更严重的打击。
根据最新的《气候变化对人类、生态系统和社会的影响：第六次评估报告》（IPCC）关于影响、适应和脆弱性的报告，大约有33亿到36亿人生活在高度脆弱于气候变化的环境中。该报告还指出，到2100年，全球50-75%的人口可能面临“威胁生命的气候条件”的时段，尤其是与加剧的高温和降雨有关的时段。
全球变暖对粮食生产产生了非常负面的影响。例如，粮食产量面临减少。食品不安全和水资源短缺可能导致人道主义危机、冲突和人口流离失所，不同地区的影响不均，尤其是在非洲、亚洲、中南美洲、一些小岛屿和北极地区。
Director’s Message
Yearly surface temperature compared to the 20th-century average from 1880–2022. Blue bars indicate cooler-than-average years; red bars show warmer-than-average years. NOAA Climate.gov graph, based on data from the National Centers for Environmental Information.
- Earth’s temperature has risen by an average of 0.14° Fahrenheit (0.08° Celsius) per decade since 1880, or about 2° F in total.
- The rate of warming since 1981 is more than twice as fast: 0.32° F (0.18° C) per decade.
- 2022 was the sixth-warmest year on record based on NOAA’s temperature data.
- The 2022 surface temperature was 1.55 °F (0.86 °Celsius) warmer than the 20th-century average of 57.0 °F (13.9 °C) and 1.90 ˚F (1.06 ˚C) warmer than the pre-industrial period (1880-1900).
- The 10 warmest years in the historical record have all occurred since 2010.
https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-global-temperature
Director’s Message
The world is now likely to breach a key climate threshold for the first time within the next five years, according to the World Meteorological Organization, due to a combination of heat-trapping pollution and a looming El Niño.
Global temperatures have soared in recent years as the world continues to burn planet-warming fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas. And that trend shows no sign of slowing. In its annual climate update, the WMO said that between 2023 and 2027, there is now a 66% chance that the planet’s temperature will climb above 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming above pre-industrial levels for at least one year.
As temperatures surge, there is also a 98% likelihood that at least one of the next five years – and the five-year period as a whole – will be the warmest on record for the planet, the WMO reported.
We can do our part by taking on vegetarian diets for good.
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/05/17/world/global-warming-breach-wmo-climate-intl
世界氣象組織表示，由於溫室氣體排放和逼近的厄爾尼諾現象的結合，未來五年內世界很可能首次突破關鍵的氣候閾值。隨著全球持續燃燒如煤、油和天然氣等造成地球變暖的化石燃料，全球氣溫近年來急劇上升，而這種趨勢並未顯示減緩的跡象。在其年度氣候報告中，世界氣象組織指出，在2023年至2027年期間，地球溫度有66%的機率至少在一年內升高至工業化前水平上升1.5攝氏度以上。
隨著溫度激增，世界氣象組織報告指出，未來五年中至少有一年，以及整個五年期間，有98%的可能性成為有紀錄以來地球上溫度最高的年份。
我們可以做出貢獻，長期採取素食為主的飲食。
Director’s Message
We asked ChatGPT how vegetarianism can help in reducing global warming. This is the reply:
- Reduced greenhouse gas emissions: Animal agriculture is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, particularly methane and nitrous oxide. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that is 25 times more effective at trapping heat than carbon dioxide. Nitrous oxide is also a potent greenhouse gas, with a global warming potential nearly 300 times that of carbon dioxide. By avoiding meat and dairy products, vegetarians can significantly reduce their carbon footprint.
2. Reduced land use and deforestation: Animal agriculture is responsible for a significant amount of deforestation and land use change, particularly in regions such as the Amazon rainforest. Deforestation not only destroys important ecosystems and wildlife habitats but also contributes to global warming by releasing carbon stored in trees into the atmosphere. By avoiding meat and dairy products, vegetarians can help reduce the demand for animal feed and grazing land, thereby reducing the pressure to clear forests for agriculture.
3. Reduced water usage: Animal agriculture is also a major consumer of water, with estimates suggesting that it takes up to 15,000 liters of water to produce just 1 kilogram of beef. By avoiding meat and dairy products, vegetarians can significantly reduce their water footprint.
4. Reduced use of fossil fuels: Animal agriculture also requires significant amounts of energy to produce and transport feed and to raise, slaughter, and transport animals. By avoiding meat and dairy products, vegetarians can reduce their reliance on fossil fuels.
Overall, vegetarianism can be an effective way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, land use, water usage, and fossil fuel consumption, all of which contribute to global warming.
Director’s Message
We are at a pivotal moment in history: there has never a been better—or a more crucial—moment to make positive changes across the food producing sectors.
https://www.nature.org/en-us/what-we-do/our-insights/perspectives/grow-positive-regenerative-global-food-system/
Change to vegetarian diet will have an immediate and big impact to this pivotal moment in history. Otherwise, there could be no more human history.
我們正處於歷史的關鍵時刻：在整個食品生產部門進行積極變革的最佳時機或更為關鍵的時機。
改成素食將對這個關鍵的歷史時刻產生立竿見影的重大影響。否則，人類就再也沒有歷史了。