Scientists agree emissions from vehicles, power plants, and industry are changing the climate and making the globe warmer.

According to Dr. Nickolas Bates at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences, CO2 is also changing the ocean on several fronts because the sea soaks up CO2 floating around in the atmosphere.

That action tends to make the ocean warmer — at least indirectly.

“If there’s more CO2 in the atmosphere, the oceans will warm up.

“CO2 itself doesn’t warm directly, but it’s this indirect impact on the climate.”

And that, Dr. Bates said, is what scientists are concerned about.

His research also shows carbon dioxide has an indirect role in rising sea levels.

He described the process very simply: “If you warm a volume of water, it expands. The ocean has no place to go but upwards.”

Plus with ice caps in the Antarctic region melting more quickly the ocean is slowly being inundated with more water.

That news is especially troubling for coastal communities like Bermuda.

As highlighted yesterday, the Bermuda International Airport, the Causeway, and even Front Street business are all under the threat of a rising sea which is also attributable to CO2-inspired climate change.

The carbon monoxide research of Dr. Bates and his team also highlights a lesser known problem — the acidification of the ocean.

Because the sea absorbs levels of CO2 circulating in the atmosphere, the emissions then raise the ocean’s acidity level.

Those higher levels threaten the survival of the reef system around the Island.

“We already have the greenhouse effect or climate change to worry about, we also have this slow, inextricable acidification of the ocean caused by CO2 emissions,” Dr. Bates said.

If coral reefs are weakened it also weakens nature’s ability to protect the coastline from erosion.

And most scientists say all of it stems from fossil fuel emissions — creating a catastrophic domino effect on the environment.

The Nature Conservancy puts it this way: “As these gases build up, they act like a big blanket, over-heating the planet and threatening our health, our economy and our environment.”