Purdue Researchers Assess Socioclimatic Exposure

Researchers have taken a first step toward quantifying the "socioclimatic" exposure of different countries to future climate change, according to the Purdue University News Bureau. A research team from Purdue and the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, Italy, found that China, India and the United States face substantial exposure relative to other nations, but that every area of the world faces high exposure in at least one category. The research will be published online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Regionally, the most exposed nations are China, Bangladesh and Myanmar in Asia; western Sahel and southwestern nations in Africa; Brazil in South America; the eastern United States in North America; and the Mediterranean nations (including France, Italy and Spain), Russia and Scandinavia in Europe. The study found that the climatic and socioeconomic variables together determine the international variations in socioclimatic risk. The Purdue Climate Change Research Center is affiliated with Purdue's Discovery Park. The center promotes and organizes research and education on global climate change and studies its impact on agriculture, natural ecosystems and society. It was established in 2004 to support Purdue in research and education on regional scale climate change, its impacts and mitigation, and adaptation strategies. The center serves as a hub for a range of activities beyond scientific research, including teaching, public education and the development of public policy recommendations. The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics was founded in 1964 by Nobel Laureate Abdus Salam. The center operates under a tripartite agreement among the Italian Government and two U.N. agencies, UNESCO and IAEA. Its mission is to foster advanced studies and research, especially in developing countries. While the name of the center reflects its beginnings, its activities today encompass most areas of physical sciences, including geophysical and environmental sciences.

Indy Contemplates Events in Myanmar

A trio of events spotlighting the crisis in Myanmar (the country formerly known as Burma) starts Wednesday in Indianapolis.

A Candlelight Vigil for Peace, Democracy and Freedom in Burma will be held from 6:30-7 p.m. Wednesday (3 October) on Democracy Plaza at Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis. It's sponsored by the IUPUI Burma Student Association. Organizer is Aye-Nu Elizabeth Duerksen (at right).

A discussion on "Burma In Crisis" sponsored by Provocate.org is planned from 3:30-5 p.m. Thursday (4 October) in the offices of the International Center of Indianapolis, 32 East Washington Street, Indianapolis. According to the organizer John Clark (above, left): "Featured will be Burmese activists and scholars who have helped draft the new constitution for their country. They will help clarify the context and implications of the events we see on the streets of Rangoon."

Provocate.org also has arranged "Burma Beautiful/Burma Brutal: Images & Ideas from a Country on the Edge" from 6-9 p.m. Friday (5 October) in the Harrison Center for the Arts, 1505 North Delaware Street, Indianapolis. John Clark notes: "This will be a multimedia presentation of images and videos from Burma, which will serve as a backdrop for informal conversations about topics such as the prospects for peaceful change, political dimensions of Buddhism in Tibet and Burma, challenges of Burmese communities in Indiana, and other topics. Featured will be: Photos and art from Burma by Indianapolis artist Jude Odell; Images from 'The Sold Project', a documentary in production by Indiana 20-somethings exposing the human side of sex slavery in Burma; Photos from refugees camps on the Burmese-Thai border by Emily Jacobi, an Indianapolis photo-journalist; Video montage of current street protests by Geo-Pol analyst Pedro Cardoso; Burmese scholars and dissidents from Indiana University's Center for Constitutional Democracy in Pluralist Societies, who are drafting a constitution for a democratic Burma; Members of the Chin and Karen ethnic minorities from Burma now in living Indianapolis."

Clark adds that Provocate.org "is delighted to present two major events this week about the current situation in Burma. Some day, perhaps soon, a democratic Burma will bear the faint stamp: 'Made in Indiana'. Burmese dissidents and constitutional scholars are drafting a new constitution in Bloomington. Ties between the state and crisis-ridden Burma will intensify if things turn badly, too: Indianapolis is the major destination for refugees from Burma, and we will get a lot more if the goons in Rangoon respond as brutally as they have in the past."