Evidence of Global Warming Around the Globe

March 27, 2006 — -- Virtually every day there is news from somewhere on the planet of the impact of global warming.

Scientists have already determined that Greenland's and Antarctica's glaciers have melted at accelerating rates because of warmer air temperatures. But a new study suggests that warmer ocean temperatures also melt the glaciers from below.

The sea water gets in under the massive icebergs to lubricate where they rest on the bedrock so that giant chunks of ice -- some as big as Manhattan and as high as the Empire State Building -- jolt forward, sometimes 30 feet in one minute. These jolts trigger glacial earthquakes, which are occurring at an increased rate.

The effects of global warming are evident much closer to home.

"We had over a hundred glaciers," said Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, who took ABC News for a helicopter tour of Montana's Glacier National Park. "Now we're down to a couple dozen, and by 2025, 2035 at the rate that they've been declining, there will be no glaciers in Glacier National Park."

It's not surprising there's been such disagreement and confusion about global warming, because in one sense it's the biggest problem we've ever faced. It's affecting the whole planet, and all at once.

The latest studies report what we cannot see -- some deep ocean currents, normally icy cold, are beginning to warm up.

An ABC poll found that while most Americans believe global warming is happening, 64 percent think there is a lot of disagreement among scientists whether it is happening.

"This is a scary issue, and the most horrible thing about it [is] that not only is it scary, it's stupid, because the reason this is happening is because people want to drive big cars and continue to waste electricity," said Tim Flannery, a professor of ecology at the University of Adelaide in Australia.