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Indra’s Net: A multifaceted approach to climate change combining scientific understanding and Buddhist principles

Barry Chernoff and Jennifer Wheeler

ABSTRACT

Climate change due to global warming presents one of the greatest challenges to the well-being of humans and our planet.. Climate change has always been a persistent characteristic of the earth (Houghton 2004). Since the industrial revolution of the late 1800s, however, the warming trends have been dramatic. As human populations have grown, our use of carbon-based fuels has increased and the amount of landscape covered by forest or vegetation has decreased (Myers 1979). Like Indra’s net, interconnections within and among human, biological, and physical parameters of the earth have created the current state of affairs. Those interrelationships also offer hope for effective remediation.

We will focus on four consequences of climate change and suggest ways of looking at them and working toward solutions. These include: i) reduction in food production rates; ii) reduction in the supply of fresh water; iii) extinction of organisms and ecosystems; and iv) significant negative impacts on humans.

A major consequence of global warming will be reduction in the harvests of grains (Brown, 2004) and fish from aquaculture (Wang and Overgaard 2008). Recently, Peng et al. (2004) showed that rice productivity declines approximately 10% per 1C degree increase in nighttime temperatures. The   earth is also becoming more arid (IPCC 2007). At the same time, the world's water supplies are shrinking dramatically due to the increased use of water for irrigation and industry (Glick 2007) and human conflicts are increasing (e.g., Georgia vs. Florida, the West Bank, etc.). Plants and animals also are responding to changes in the climate and to human-induced alterations of ecosystems by changing their distributions and abundances or by going extinct (Thomas et al. 2004). Other unfortunate consequences include the spread of diseases (e.g., malaria and dengue) because their vectors can now inhabit regions that were formerly too cold for them to survive (Ebi 2006).

Applying Buddhist principles may reveal new ways that humans can understand the threats and formulate effective responses. We will examine key principles including impermanence/interdependence, wisdom and compassion, karma, non-duality, and ethical behavior. For example, by understanding and accepting the interrelationships and feedback loops among humans, ecosystems, and the physical nature of the planet we prepare change in a way that is compassionate and just. To do this, we must look clearly at highly complex and politically sensitive aspects of climate change. For example, if we were to stop all carbon-based emissions (e.g., carbon dioxide, methane, etc.), the climate would still warm because a molecule of carbon dioxide remains in the atmosphere an average of 60 years (Houghton 2004, IPPC 2007). Uncontrolled population growth also has a negative impact on our climate, yet this subject is often viewed as taboo by activist organizations and governmental agencies. Buddhist principles suggest that dispassionate examination of the roots of problems will cut through to the source of afflictions.

To conclude, we will suggest specific solutions that are based on Buddhist principles to the following climate-related problems: i) consumption; ii) poverty and disease; iii) equitable distribution of natural resources and food; and iv) protection of natural resources.

BIOGRAPHY

Barry Chernoff, Ph.D. (University of Michigan 1983)

Professor Barry Chernoff joined the Wesleyan University faculty in 2003. He holds the Robert K. Schumann Chair of Environmental Studies and directs that program. He teaches courses in Environmental Studies, Tropical Ecology, Aquatic Ecosystem Conservation, and Evolutionary Biology for the departments of Biology and Earth and Environmental Sciences. Chernoff’s research centers around the freshwater fishes of the Neotropical region, primarily those in South America in the Amazon. His research include, ecology, evolutionary biology, and conservation. He has also led international teams on expeditions designed to conserve large watersheds of the world, having made more than 31 expeditions in 11 countries in the Americas and in Asia. Recently, Professor Chernoff and his students have been working on aquatic ecololgy and conservation of Connecticut watersheds. In the past he has held professorial and curatorial positions at the Field Museum, University of Chicago, University of Illinois at Chicago, University of Pennsylvania and the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. He holds visiting positions at Universidad Central de Venezuela and the Museu Zoologia de Universidade de Sao Paulo. He has authored and co-authored more than 87 scientific articles and books. Chernoff has received a number of awards including the Caleb T. Winchester Outstanding Scholar and Teacher Award from Xi of Psi Upsilon at Wesleyan University and a Commendation for Excellence in Teaching from the University of Chicago. Chernoff was elected to the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2005. He now chairs the Academy's Environmental Science and Technology Panel. From 1993 until 1999, he served on the U.S. National Committee for the International Union of Biological Sciences elected by the National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council. He served as Vice-Chairman of the Committee from 1995 until 1997 and Chairman from 1997 until 1999. Chernoff co-wrote the script for a short documentary film entitled “Understanding Biodiversity,” which was awarded finalist status at a number of film festivals, including Cannes, Toronto, and Sundance, and received the Silver Apple Award from the American Educational Network. He has served on the boards of a number of community-baseded foundations, including the Confluence Greenway Project of St. Louis, Missouri. He was president of the Sustainable Aquatic Research Center and is currently, president of The Jonah Center for Earth and Art, Middletown, CT.

A Few Representative Environmental Publications since 2000 

2000 - Chernoff, B., A. Machado-Allison, P. Willink, J. Sarmiento, S. Barrera, N. Menezes and H. Ortega. Fishes of three Bolivian rivers: diversity, distribution and conservation. Interciencia 25(6):273-283.

2000 - Chernoff, B. and P. W. Willink. Ecological and geographical structure in assemblages of freshwater fishes in the Pantanal, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil. In Biological Assessment of the Aquatic Ecosystems of the Pantanal, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil, Willink, P. W., B. Chernoff, L. E. Alonso, J. R. Montambault and R. Lourival (Eds.), 82-97, Bulletin of Biological Assessment 18.

2000 - Willink, P. W., B. Chernoff, L. E. Alonso, J. R. Montambault and R. Lourival (Eds.) A Biological Assessment of the Aquatic Ecosystems of the Pantanal, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil, 306 pp. Bulletin of Biological Assessment 18.

2001 - Chernoff, B., P.W. Willink and J. R. Mantambault (eds.), A Biological Assessment of the Aquatic Ecosystems of the Rio Paraguay Basin , Alto Paraguay, Paraguay. Bulletin of Biological Assessment 19

2001 - Chernoff, B, P. W. Willink, M. Toledo-Piza, J. Sarmiento, M. Medina and D. Mandelburger. Testing hypotheses of geographic and habitat partitioning of fishes in the Rio Paraguay, Paraguay. Pp. 82-101. In: Chernoff, B., P.W. Willink and J.R. Montambault (eds.), A Biological Assessment of the Aquatic Ecosystems of the Rio Paraguay Basin, Alto Paraguay, Paraguay. Bulletin of Biological Assessment 19.

2001 - Little, M., C. Badgley, C. Beall, M. Balick, L. E. Munsterman, K. M. Weiss, T. M. Bert, B. Chernoff. A Framework for a program in the human dimensions of biodiversity. Biology International 42: 3-15.

2003 - Chernoff, B., A. Machado-Allison, K. Riseng, J. R. Montambault (eds). A Biological Assessment of the Aquatic Ecosystems of the Rio Caura Watershed, Venezuela. Bulletin of Biological Assessment 28: 282 pp.

2003 - Chernoff, B., A. Machado-Allison, P. Willink, F. Provenzano and P. Petry. The Distribution of fishes and patterns of biodiversity in the Caura River Basin. Pp. 86-96. In: Chernoff, B., K. Riseng, A. Machado-Allison, J. R. Montambault (eds). A Biological Assessment of the Aquatic Ecosystems of the Rio Caura Watershed, Venezuela. Bulletin of Biological Assessment 28.

2004 - Chernoff, B., P. W. Willink and A. Machado-Allison. Spatial partitioning of fishes in the Río Paraguay, Paraguay. Interciencia 29(4): 183-192.

2004 - Chernoff, B., P. W. Willink, A. Machado-Allison, M. F. Mereles, C. Magalhães, F. A. R. Barbosa, and M. Callisto. Distributional congruence among aquatic Plants, invertebrates and fishes within the Río Paraguay Basin, Paraguay . Interciencia 29(4): 199-206.

2005 - Lasso, A. Machado-ALlison, D. Taphorn, D. Olarte, C. Vispo, B. Chernoff, F. Provenzano, O Lasso, A. Cervignon, H. Nakamura, N. Gonzalez, J. Meri, C. Silvera, A. Bonilla, H. Lopez Rojas, D. Machado-Aranda. The Fishes of the Caura River Basin, Orinoco Drainage, Venezuela: Annotated Checklist. Scientia Guiaianae, 12: 223-245.

2005 - Machado-Allison, A., B. Chernoff, F. Provenzano, P. Willink, A. Marcano, P. Petry, and B. Sidlauskas. Identificación de areas prioritarias de conservación en la cuenca del Río Caura. Acta Biologica Venezuelica 22: 37-65.

2005 - Willink, P. W., B. Chernoff and J. McCullough (eds.) A Biological Assessment of the Rio Pastaza Basin, Ecuador and Peru. Bulletin of Biological Assessment. Vol 33., Washington, D.C., 168 pp.

2006 - Sidlauskas, B. B. Chernoff, and A. Machado-Allison. Geographic and environmental variation in Bryconops cf. melanurus (Ostariophysi: Characidae) from the Brazilian Pantanal. Ichthyological Research, 53: 24-33.

2007 - Alonso, L., Chernoff, B., and H. Berrenstein (eds). A. Biological Assessment of the Coppename River, Suriname. Bulletin Biological Assessment. Vol 39, 119 pp.

Jennifer Wheeler (A.B., Bryn Mawr College)

Jennifer Wheeler is a student in the three-year Dharma Training Course at Chuang Yen Monastery in Carmel, New York, led by the Ven. Thich Tri Hoang. She has attended teachings and retreats with Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh, Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi, and other well-known Dharma teachers. She serves as a mentor in Chuang Yen's Buddhist Correspondence Course, which assists prisoners across the U.S. in pursuing Dharma study and practice. She assists in organizing retreats and special programs for the Hai An Pagoda in New Britain, Connecticut, and is a member of the temple's English-speaking sangha. Her professional experience includes twenty years' work in natural history and historic house museums in the U.S. She also worked for five years as an executive search consultant assisting non-governmental and not-for-profit organizations and foundations in the areas of education, environment, social justice, and human services in their search for qualified leadership-level staff. She has traveled in Africa, South America, and Asia, including participating in field expeditions with her husband, Barry Chernoff. Most recently, she travelled to Vietnam in April 2007 as a member of the lay delegation accompanying Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh.