Cricket and other junior and community sports on Sydney’s North Shore are under threat from rising sea levels as a result of climate change.

Global warming is warming the oceans as well as the atmosphere. Water expands as it warms. So, the seas are rising - around 200mm last century and accelerating.

OzCoasts has published maps of impacts from sea level rises of 50cm, 80cm and 110 cm. If global greenhouse emissions are not drastically reduced, fast, our children will see rises like this or more in their lifetimes.

North Shore local members Joe Hockey and Paul Fletcher have both said they accept the science of climate change. Both have spoken in favour of an emissions trading scheme in the past, as one of the forms of climate action we need. But now they are voting the other way.

They need to vote with the future of their constituencies in mind, not just with Tony Abbott’s agenda for political power.  Cricket will be dismissed by climate change if we don’t even play a real shot.

• For Anderson Park in Neutral Bay, 1.1 metres sea level rise sees Harbour tides coming up under the trees down near the water. Any more rise than that and we’ll start to see salt water regularly on at least one of the pitches.
• Balmoral park is still there, just, with 1.1 metres of sea level rise -  but don’t try to lie on the beach
• Buffalo Creek park in Hunters Hill is still above water with 1.1 metres of sea level rise, but by surprisingly little as the tides come up the nearby Lane Cove River.
• Burns Bay reserve in Kooyong Road Riverview, unfortunately, does start to see areas of inundation with sea level rise of 1.1 metres.

• Gore Creek Reserve ground would still be there with 1.1 metres of sea level rise – but the water would be up to the boundary now.
• Surprisingly, the north end of Chatswood Golf Course starts to see some greens experiencing inundation on the map for impacts of 1.1 metres sea level rise

• Morrison Bay at Putney sees several of the cricket grounds used by North Shore cricket and others – as well as the netball fields – inundated by 1.1 metres sea level rise.

• For Primrose Park at Cremorne, OzCoasts map for 1.1 metres of sea level rise indicates that the pitch nearest the water would have a substantially shorter boundary than it does now. More sea level rise than that, of course, and Primrose starts to lose pitches.

• Reid Park in Mosman, which has sometimes been used for North Shore junior cricket, would be inundated with a 1.1 metre rise in sea level.

• Unfortunately, the OzCoasts map for impacts of a 1.1 metre sea level rise due to climate change would see the grade ground at Tunks Park completely inundated. Two of the three grounds with synthetic pitches higher up the park which the juniors use would be inundated too with a rise of this level.

Don’t be stumped on climate change – action now.