Today is Blog Action Day, an annual event where bloggers worldwide combine their energies to highlight a specific issue. Over 10,000 sites from more than 150 countries, are participating in this years discussion on climate change.

As part of EarthTrends contribution we will be highlighting a few key climate change trends and statistics.

The first evacuation of an entire people on environmental grounds has now begun in the South Pacific. Persistent flooding is causing the submergence of the Carteret Islands, a low lying atoll in Papua New Guinea, where the saltwater intrusion is also contaminating the islands freshwater supply and preventing the growth of crops. Despite attempts at battling the floods, including building a seawall and planting mangroves, the islands were declared uninhabitable by the government in 2005 and expected to be completely submerged by 2015. Now, the first few families have been relocated to Bougainville on the mainland as part of the initial stage of the evacuation process causing the Carteret Islanders to be labeled as the world's first environmental refugees.

This forced resettlement of a whole population draws attention to the inescapable reality of environmental displacement, an occurrence which will only become more commonplace as the impacts of climate change are felt around the world.

Energy, has powered human development from the dawn of time. The energy from the sun fuels all life on Earth. The potential energy extracted from humans and animals forms the foundations on which our society has been built. The electrical and mechanical energy generated from natural resources such as fossil fuels, water, and steam have opened numerous avenues within industry, transportation and livelihoods. As science and technology progress and energy sources increase in efficiency and capacity so too do the limits of our capabilities.

However, just as energy has the potential to instigate development it can also act as one of the greatest barriers. While the poor can most benefit from improved access to energy sources, they are also the most likely to suffer from the effects of unsustainable energy use such as climate change, deforestation, adverse health impacts and desertification.

April 22nd, better known as Earth Day, is a perfect opportunity to bring the environment to the forefront and review some of the key global changes and trends impacting the world. So in honor of Earth Day the EarthTrends team has put together a few interesting statistics from our database.

Happy Earth Day!

The relationship between economic growth and rising carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions is the chicken or the egg question of the climate change debate. A growth in industry, and hence emissions, will no doubt stimulate a country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Conversely, a higher GDP will often lead to a greater disposable income and higher standards of living which could manifest in more cars, more residential energy use and more consumption all of which will impact on a country's total emissions.

For those of us trying to make more sustainable choices within our daily lives, the decision to buy local produce appears to be an obvious next step. The transportation sector contributes nearly one quarter of greenhouse gas emissions in developed countries. It seems logical then that cutting down on the distance between consumers and producers should also have a direct impact on emissions. For this reason the last few years have seen a push for food miles labeling particularly in Europe. However, many critics of food miles feel that this system is at best tokenistic and in some cases does more harm than good.

The food miles debate highlights a clash between differing sustainable development agendas. From an environmental perspective, encouraging consumers to alter their purchasing patterns and limiting transportation emissions can only be a good thing. However, from an economic development point of view, food miles labeling can damage important industries in poor countries.

Around 80% of all life on Earth can be found in the oceans, which cover more than 70% of the planet's surface. Despite this wealth of life, less than 10% of our vast oceans have been explored by humans. This week, Google has released a new version of their popular Google Earth program which will give users the ability to discover the depths of our oceans.