Prepare for the worst and hope for the best was the main theme for the Eighth International Global Warming Conference and Exposition held in New York May 27-29.
Some 50 scientists from more than two dozen nations presented their research in climatology and epidemiology, focusing on how the predicted impacts of global warming may affect government policy.
One area of increased concern among the medical researchers is the potential health impacts of global warming. According to Jonathan Patz, of Johns Hopkins University, the health impacts of a warmer planet could be severe.
"Sometimes a difference of even two degrees Celsius can make all the difference," Patz said.
As more of the planet becomes tropical in climate, Patz said, some countries in the temperate zone will be affected by diseases such as malaria and cholera, which had been considered a problem only in developing countries.
Finding ways to reduce carbon dioxide and other gases implicated in causing the "greenhouse effect" responsible for global warming was another topic scientists discussed at the conference.
One analyst, John D. Kinsman of the Edison Electric Institute in Washington, DC, discussed a voluntary effort by many US and international corporations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide. One of the main advantages of such an approach, he said, is that it might delay the need for the government to impose curbs on emissions.
This program, called the Climate Challenge Program, is a five part program which includes improving the energy efficiency of electricity generation, as well as switching to less polluting fossil fuels. Other initiatives include increasing the use of electric or zero emission vehicles.
Another solution that was presented to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide that is emitted into the atmosphere by industry involved binding carbon dioxide to magnesium. Darryl P. Butt, technical staff member of the Los Alamos National Laboratory presented his research which showed that bombarding carbon dioxide molecules with magnesium hydroxide at high pressure, would result in magnesium carbonate, as well as silica and iron oxides, all of which Butt considered "environmentally benign."
This method of reducing carbon dioxide emissions may be the most economically feasible alternative, considering the fact that the US heavily depends on fossil fuels for energy, according to Butt.