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BSPG News and Meeting (No. 187)
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Edited by Stony Brook Buddhism Study and Practice Group

News
We will meet at room 303 of the Student Activities Center from 7pm to 8:30pm on Wednesday instead of Thursday.

Meeting
Wednesday, 6/26, 7pm to 8:30pm
Room 303, Student Activities Center
Please be on time!

Words from the Suttas/Sutras
"Taking refuge in the Buddha, they should wish that all beings,
continue the lineage of Buddhas, conceiving the unexcelled aspiration.
Taking refuge in the Dharma, they should wish that all beings,
enter deeply into the scriptures, and their wisdom be as deep as the ocean.
Taking refuge in the Sangha, they should wish that all beings,
bring the masses into harmony, all becoming free from obstruction."
--Avatamsaka Sutra

Quote of the Week
"The woes of life succeed one another
Like the sea's incessant waves --
One has barely passed, before
The next one takes its place.
Until you are liberated, pain
And pleasure come and go at random
Like passers-by encountered in the street." --Milarepa
 

Study: Earth Can't Meet Human Demand for Resources
by D.K.

An article by Christopher Doering of Reuters says that presently, humans are using too much of the Earth's resources too quickly.  The research to support this claim was conducted by Redefining Progress, a nonprofit group based in California that focuses on environmental conservation and global economic situations. Their study, published on June 24th in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has revealed that we are currently faced with a severe imbalance of resource consumption and resource regeneration. According to the research, the past few decades of technological progress have resulted in an increase in the world's human population and the demand for energy, land, and forests. At the present rate of resource use, the Earth's processes require 1.2 years to regenerate what we consume in 1 year--a rate at which these processes clearly cannot provide us with the biological forms that we use as particular commodities.  The study presents other quantitative values to illustrate the situation of declining resources, where the United States, United Kingdom, and other industrialized nations lead the world in the rapid consumption of the Earth's materials.  Although the research was limited to estimated statistics of resource use and had insufficient data necessary to provide an exact depiction of the imbalance of consumption and regeneration, the study points out the current instability of the Earth's environment. The researchers at Redefining Progress have presented a question to us: can we continue our activities of consumption and development without regard for the sensitive balance of the Earth and its processes?
 

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