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"The future is going to look quite grim. Glaciers will melt, sea ice in the Artic will continue to recede, snow cover will decrease, dry periods will increase," said Frank Keimig, geosciences professor and manager of the Climate System Research Center at the University of Massachusetts. He notes that the mean temperature of the globe has been rising dramatically and has been changing over the past 20 years.
In a recent interview, Keimig discussed the world impact of global warming. He talked of some alarming developments affecting everything from the Arctic ice cap to migrating birds in New England. And he called for the public to get educated and take action for change.
"This is happening as we speak," Keimig said. "Glaciers are receding around the world and sea levels are rising."
In a report by the Artic Climate Impact Assessment in 2005, global average sea level rose between 0.1m and 0.2m during the 20th century, primarily because of thermal expansion of warming ocean waters.
"Small nations in the Pacific as well as coastal cities will be gone due to melting glaciers, which over time will cause the sea levels to rise," he said.
Keimig noted that some of these small islands in the Pacific, as well as many coastal cities, are only a few meters above sea level. Keimig said that though many Third-World regions do not contribute much to greenhouse gases, many people in these regions would be highly affected.
"In the United States and other Western nations, when it gets hot, we just put more air conditioning," Keimig said. "However, in underdeveloped regions, they tend to be less adapted for climate change and many of the time they have no infrastructure to help become adapted.
"The United States is the top emitter of carbon dioxide, per capita from a study in 2002, followed by Saudi Arabia, Australia and Canada," Keimig said.
China, a fossil fuel and coal dependent country, recently joined the race.
But though the U.S. is a big producer of carbon dioxide emissions, Keimig said they lag behind in taking action on the issue.
"I would have to say Europe is becoming more environmentally conscious," Keimig said. "They are way ahead of us."
The European Union has been taking a lot of environmental actions, in part because Green parties in different western European countries have served as political catalysts.
"However, in the U.S.," Keimig said, "we are very much still in the two-party system and Green parties have not quite made it yet."
Keimig said that there are some encouraging signs for the U.S. from Congress, corporations and the general public to start establishing more Green parties.
"We have the Cap and Trade system, which many companies are using," Keimig said. "Basically you put a cap on carbon dioxide and other green house gases, and you trade it, for what we call, carbon credit, and in turn you get money."
So, this puts a "cap," or restriction, on how much pollution a company can emit. In turn, the companies receive permits that they are free to sell to other companies facing high costs. The permits make it desirable to companies who prefer not to make high reduction costs themselves.
But Keimig says this should just be the beginning. Fossil fuel industries, Keimig notes, are using the same tactics as the tobacco industry, in sowing doubts about climate change in the public.
"We need more fuel efficiency in cars, as well as more public transportation," he said. "The public has to be educated."
In addition, Keimig notes that there are biological changes, specifically in New England, that are taking effect because of global warming.
"Growing seasons have been changing," Keimig said. "Certain plants are blooming earlier and some species have been seen where they're not supposed to be, specifically birds."
Because of the warming of sea temperatures, coral reefs are losing their symbiotic relationship with algae, necessary for reef building. Without coral reefs there will be no barrier to protect us from wave movement and power.
"Coral reefs protect us from storms," Keimig said. "And though the death of coral reefs will take quite a long time, coral reefs will eventually bleach, leaving their skeletons, deeply impacting marine life.
"However, global warming causing more severe hurricanes is a little bit controversial, there is still not enough information," he said.
Was Hurricane Katrina caused by global warming?
"That is a tough one," Keimig said. He notes that the warming of the Atlantic is caused in-part by global warming and part by nature. In 2005, Hurricane Wilma, another Category-five hurricane, hit the Yucatan Peninsula, following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.
"When it comes down to it, the government has to get more involved," Keimig said. "Educators, like myself, have to educate people on what's going on."
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