Perhaps one of the most concerning things about the predicted course of climate change over the next century is the likelihood of rising sea levels. It is thought that by 2100, the melting glaciers and ice caps could rise the level of oceans all over the world by as much as 3.4m/11 feet.
While this may not sound like a particularly large rise in sea level, consider that the 20mm (about inch) rise in sea levels that have already been observed in the last 150 years have been already been responsible for the submergence of several South Pacific islands and atolls.
The engine that drives this is the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and the one that has the greatest impact in the early 21st century is carbon dioxide. This is one of the primary by-products of the burning of fossil fuels, which are responsible, in large measure, for the massive increase in carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere.
