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Coal Miners, Eastern India, 1998

"Turning the planet inside out, miners 260 feet (80 meters) down in eastern India dig coal that will release carbon dioxide (CO₂) into the atmosphere when burned. As emerging nations join their industrialized neighbors in burning more fossil fuels, the amount of CO₂ in the air is expected to double in the next century. Most experts, acknowledging the awesome complexity of Earth's climate system, believe higher CO₂ levels carry a real threat of raising global temperatures and bringing about significant climate change."

—From "Unlocking the Climate Puzzle," May 1998, National Geographic magazine

Photograph by Joanna B. Pinneo