No part of the Marshall Islands is higher than 9 feet above the sea. Scientists say that if the Earth continues to warm, sea levels around the world could rise about a foot and a half by 2100 as warmed ocean water expands. If that happens, large parts of the Marshalls, including sections of Majuro, could be submerged. Even before that, salt water would infiltrate freshwater wells that many Marshallese depend on for drinking, bathing and watering crops. Already, Muller and other Marshallese believe, the first symptoms of global warming are appearing on their islands.
Tides are higher.
Less rain is falling. Erosion is gnawing at the shorelines, causing trees to tumble into the water and graveyards to crumble away. Global warming is thought by most scientists to be caused partly by greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide that collect in the atmosphere and trap heat close to the Earth. Muller and other Marshallese came to the international global warming talks under way in Kyoto hoping to prevent such devastation. They've won little support.