As we begin to pace ourselves to begin the holiday season of 2006 we must look back and remember the year 2005 and even the last couple of months as ones thwarted by a succession of natural devastations.

From the south east Asian earthquake and tsunami to hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and mostly recently the earthquake in Hawaii, the natural disasters of 2005 and 2006 took an immediate toll upon the homes and lives of thousands of people.

While it is out of our hands to control large scale disasters such as the ones mentioned above, human impact upon the environment has added to an increase in climate change, which could account for some of these disasters.

Ours is a world powered by nuclear and fossil fuels, a world of depleted resources, a world of depleted rain forests, a world of pollution, a world in which nature has been disrupted by the soiled hands of humans.

Over time ecology has attached itself to numerous other public forums including politics with the formation of various green parties. Outside the realm of politics, however, ecology has also found a niche in many of the world’s top religions bringing members and leaders of these faiths into a critical dialogue with global environmental crisis’s, including Buddhism.

This mentality embraces the idea of a holistic worldview in which great importance is placed upon the entirety of the earth and its multiple environments, including the interdependence of these differing and varied habitats with each other.

Buddhist environmentalists believe that humans have destroyed the natural order of things, changing our world and environment in an irrevocable manner. While they don’t argue that change is inherent to nature, they suggest that the natural process is directly affected by human morality and action.

It is clear that our world is facing many environmental crises. It seems that it will become the responsibility of man to correct the many destructive things we have done too our world. Though we have captured the air with our planes, the oceans with our ships, and the ground with our cars we have yet the ability to stop the force that is Mother Nature and I believe yet to witness the full extent of her furry.

A change in how we interact with our world will become evident. It is a matter, however, of beginning that change before we are forced to be reminded of our downfalls in regards to environment through the destructive force of Mother Nature which has been so evident in the last couple of years.

Present Buddhist activist are indeed fighting for a change. They are addressing head-on international issues ranging from the disposal of nuclear waste to many human rights violations taking place all over the world.

The most internationally visible leaders, such as the Dalai Lama and Thich Nhat Hanh, are joined by many other from around the globe, in taking the time to recognize the need to stand and fight in order to preserve the condition of life