Global Warming: Rising Seas creates 70,000 Climate Refugees

Rising seas attributed to human induced global warming have submerged Lohachara island, once the home to 10,000 people. Unhinhabited Suparibhanga has also vanished, while the inhabited island of Ghoramara has lost two thirds of its area to the rising seas in the Bay of Bengal.

While we were all distracted by Christmas festivities, this sober news on the impact of climate change was published in The Independent (UK), about the inundation of various Sundarban islands in the Indian part of the delta region of the Ganges and Brahmaputra river, where they empty into the Bay of Bengal.

The region is considered remote and researchers at Calcutta's Jadavpur University discovered the submergence through examining satellite photos of the area. According to the report in the Independent, Dr Sugata Hazra, director of the university's School of Oceanographic Studies, said that there are now a dozen "vanishing islands" in India's part of the delta.

Australian Government Gagging Climate Refugee Issue

Friends of the Earth Australia have called on the Australian Government to recognise climate refugees and hold an investigation to prove the issue is not being silenced by the “greenhouse mafia”, as reported on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) program Four Corners.

The Four Corners program, The Greenhouse Mafia, also contained allegations of censorship against scientists speaking out on issues where their views were counter to Government policy on climate change.

More Info:
* ABC: Four Corners: The Greenhouse Mafia
* ABC: News in Science: Censorship 'just tip of iceberg'
* Friends of the Earth Australia Climate Justice Campaign
* Citizens Guide to Climate Refugees

Greenland Ice Sheet melting faster than expected

Scientists have measured a significant decrease in the mass of the Greenland ice cap, using data from satellites that measures movement in Earth's mass. A team led by Dr. Isabella Velicogna of the University of Colorado, Boulder, found that Greenland's ice sheet decreased by 162 (plus or minus 22) cubic kilometers a year between 2002 and 2005. This is higher than all previously published estimates, and it represents a change of about 0.4 millimeters (.016 inches) per year to global sea level rise.

The first direct, comprehensive mass survey of the entire Greenland ice sheet updates findings published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. Data was collected from the NASA/German Aerospace Center Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite.

Soaring temperatures set new Melbourne and Victorian record

Melbourne had its warmest ever month of December with an average temperature of 27.7 degrees. The previous record was 27.3 degrees set in 1873. On December 31 people in Melbourne sweltered with a record temperature for New Year's Eve of 42.9 degrees at 5.15pm (AEDT). The temperature eclipsed the previous record of 41.7 degrees for December 31 set in 1862.

About 50 cyclists braved clear skies and high temperatures for the monthly Critical Mass bicycle ride in Melbourne on Friday 30 December. Quite a number of the cyclists cooled themselves by riding through the fountain at Southbank outside Crown Casino. The ride ended at Mountain Goat Brewery in Richmond where some parched throats were satisfied by some famed Mountain Goat beer.