6-foot Sea-level Rise Called Inevitable

The world warmed by about 0.7 degrees Celsius (1.26 Fahrenheit) over the past century, and most scientists expect it will rise another degree or two in the next century. Even if it goes up just 1.5 degrees C, seas will rise 2 meters (6 feet), a scientist said Tuesday at a climate conference at Oxford University.

"The crux of the sea level issue is that it starts very slowly but once it gets going it is practically unstoppable," said Stefan Rahmstorf, a scientist at Germany's Potsdam Institute and a widely recognized sea level expert. "There is no way I can see to stop this rise, even if we have gone to zero emissions."

Seas rise when landlocked ice melts and because warmer water expands.

Already scientists have documented dramatic reductions in Arctic ice that may have forever changed the flora and fauna there.