The Bay Watch Dog!!

This is bound to give Pamela Anderson and her likes a few goose bumps. Imagine being replaced by Dogs ?? Well that is precisely what a Dog has been doing rather successfully at the famed Chennai Marina Beach. Responding to the name of Julie , she plays the role of the beach guard to the hilt.

Here is the clincher, she joined the force voluntarily when she started pulling out people who go further into the waters.

Here is what CNN IBN had to say about this Dog....

No one can miss the rather unlikely member of the Anna Square police station in Chennai, Julie — unlikely because Julie is a dog. She is the newest member of the Anna Square police station and joined just about a month ago.

However, Julie is not a police watchdog, but has voluntary taken up the duty of patrolling the shores of the Marina beach.

Inspector S Sekar says, "A small child was playing very close to the water just a couple of days ago. Julie barked at her and pulled her to the shore to safety. That's when people got to know her."

Policemen say over 1,600 people have drowned in the stretch of beach near Anna Square police station in the last year. Among them were 231 children.

Julie keeps an eye on the crowd and pulls back people who stray too close to the water.

She has become a favourite among the policemen and the regular beach-goers — and that might have something to do with the fact that nobody has drowned in the area ever since she's taken up her duty about a month ago.

The police are now thinking of using Julie's services for other purposes as well.

S Sekar says, "We are planning to train her and other dogs like her to catch people dealing with narcotic substances on the beach."

And Julie seems to be enjoying her new role as Chennai's special cop.

Climate Change to affect the Mumbai coast line

According to studies made recently the enrtire Mumbai coastline features like Chowpatty, Chatrapathi Shivaji Airport, Gateway of India etc will be under water within the next 100 years or so. This is according to a study made by Sudhir Chella Rajan, from the Humanities Department of IIT Chennai.

Here is the article in more detail

The Gateway of India will be wiped off the Mumbai skyline. Bhelpuri at Chowpatty will become the stuff of grandmother's tales.

No flights will take off from Chhatrapati Shivaji airport. No couple will canoodle at the Marine Drive promenade and even heirs to the bungalow of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan will not be able to resist being evicted from their home.

Ninety-two years from now, all these landmarks of Mumbai will be underwater. That's the apocalypse scenario drawn up in a report titled 'Climate Migrants in South Asia: Estimates and Solutions' that has been commissioned by Greenpeace, a non-government organization.

Prepared by climate expert and professor from the humanities department of IIT Chennai, Sudhir Chella Rajan, the report says that a potential increase in temperatures by 4 to 5 degrees due to greenhouse emissions at the current rate would mean a corresponding rise in sea levels of up to five metres by 2100.

This, in turn, would imply that approximately 50 million Indians would be rendered homeless and become 'climate migrants'.

"The low elevation coastal zone (LECZ), which comprises the coastal region that is less than 10 metres above average sea level, is obviously at direct risk. Even prime commercial properties like the Backbay complex and the Bandra-Kurla complex fall into this category. This means that it's not just the average Koli who will be affected but even Mannat (superstar SRK's Bandra Bandstand bungalow) would be on the wrong side of the coastline once the sea level rises," said Greenpeace activist Shweta Ganesh Kumar.

Greenpeace envisages that human migration 92 years hence would be equivalent to 10 times the movement seen during Partition. "This means that even the limited space in your Virar-Churchgate local will be affected," she added.

However, Rakesh Kumar from the National Environment Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) felt the figures in the Greenpeace study seemed exaggerated.

"This can create a scare in the minds of the people. According to estimates of the intergovernmental panel of climate change (IPCC), the rise in sea levels by 2011 is estimated at one metre. There will be submersion, but only in the low-lying areas. At most, the foundations of buildings near the shore may be weakened due to saline formation," said Kumar.

Greenpeace activists, however, are on a mission to raise awareness about the impending doom. Around 40 Greenpeace activists or 'Blue Busters' sporting symbolic blue raincoats hit the city streets on Sunday.

Blue cautionary signs, saying 'Climate Change Zone Ahead' with illustrations of drowning individuals bearing a distinct resemblance to traditional traffic signs, were put up along the Bandra Kurla Complex and other areas.

Greenpeace Climate and Energy campaigner Brikesh Singh said, "We want to alert Mumbaikars to the blue future they have in store if steps are not taken to fight global warming. If we don't act now, our city of dreams will be caught up in a never-ending nightmare, and we are the last generation that can prevent this from happening." The 'Blue Alert' signs were part of a Greenpeace campaign launched in Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Kochi, Panaji and Puri.

"The campaign aims at bringing home the reality of climate change to the common man and empowering people to force their MPs to speak out about the issue of climate change," said Singh.

Greenpeace activists will slap token 'eviction-warning' notices on the doors of structures that may be affected. These include the homes of actors Shah Rukh Khan, Rekha and Farhan Akhtar.