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For the first time since civilization began, se -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- Ed: Good point, Sarah ... climate change is dificult enough to understand without misinformation. Does anyone know which is the real version, and which the urban legend? Of course, there are plenty good reasons besides Tuvalu to use non-poluting forms of transport. Thanks ~Paul :) -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- It's so difficult to know who to believe. I have received the information on Tuvalu prior to the message on SustMar and became very concerned. Subsequent to the first e-mail, I received the one below. What is the reality? We need to remember to be just as critical of e-mail information as we are of other media! Regards, Sarah _____________________________________ AUCKLAND, New Zealand (November 16, 2001 -- Agence France-Presse)---Residents of Tuvalu are not abandoning their homes next year and may not do so for decades, a Tuvalu government official said Friday. The Washington-based Earth Policy Institute had said in a statement the surrounding Pacific waters have risen to dangerous levels due to global warming. "The leaders of Tuvalu have conceded defeat in their battle with the rising sea, announcing that they will abandon their homeland," Lester Brown of the Washington-based environmental group said in a statement. He added that "New Zealand has agreed to accept all 11,000 citizens of Tuvalu, with migration expected to start in 2002." New Zealand officials have flatly denied this and a decade long scientific study has found no evidence of sea-level rise around Tuvalu. Tuvalu Deputy Secretary to Government Simeti Lopati told AFP from Funafuti that it had received many inquiries on whether residents were leaving, after a story that Australia wanted to shunt Middle Eastern asylum seekers to the archipelago. It was regarded as an ironic request because four months earlier Australia had refused Tuvalu's request to allow more migrants in from Tuvalu. The country fears sea level rises will ultimately sink the nine atolls spread out over some 26 square kilometers (10 square miles) land area. "We are not leaving Tuvalu just yet, and no decision has been taken on that," Lopati said. "Some people might be exaggerating it a bit." While Australia has refused to take Tuvaluans, New Zealand is considering the matter. A spokesman for Foreign Minister Phil Goff said a previous Tuvalu prime minister, the late Ionatana Ionatana, last year had approached New Zealand over population pressure on Tuvalu and the rising sea level. He asked for a quota of 1,500 people over 10 years. The spokesman said New Zealand was considering the issue in the context of other immigration issues. Several thousand Tuvaluans used to work in the phosphate mines on Nauru but as that has reached exhaustion, they are returning home, increasing the population pressure. Although no part of Tuvalu is more than 4.5 meters (14 feet) above sea level, there is strong scientific debate on whether it is sinking or whether the island moves up with the sea level. Australia's National Tidal Facility at Flinder's University in Adelaide has over the last decade installed tide gauges across the Pacific, including one at Tuvalu's capital atoll, Funafuti. Facility director Wolfgang Scherer says their data from Funafuti shows no evidence of sea level rise. "As of June 2001, based on the short-term sea level rise analyses .. the eight years of data return show a rate of 0.0 mm per year, i.e. no change in average sea level over the period of record." Earlier this year Paani Laupepa of Tuvalu's Ministry of National Resources said they are expecting to evacuate their people from the atolls within 50 years. "Given the situation in which Australia is producing a lot of pollution into the atmosphere, the Australian Government should take the necessary steps to accommodate the people who are suffering from the effects of the pollution," he said. "If you pollute, you should take responsibility for the actions that you are causing." Michael Field New Zealand/South Pacific Correspondent Agence France-Presse E-mail: afp.nz@clear.net.nz Phone: (64 21) 688438 Fax: (64 21) 694035 Website: http://www.afp.com/english/ Website: http://www.michaelfield.org SOURCE: Pacific Islands Report -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- The preceding message was posted on Sustainable Maritimes (sust-mar) -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- TELL A FRIEND! The more people who join sust-mar, the more interesting and diverse views we'll see ... and more people to read *your* messages. So ... pssssst! Pass it on ... To join sust-mar just send email to <majordomo@chebucto.ns.ca> As the text of your message type "subscribe sust-mar" (without the quotes)
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