A panel of scientists, physicians, business leaders and environmentalists gave individual presentations on their respective knowledge of the subject.
As defined by the Environmental Protection Agency, global warming is the progressive, gradual rise of the earth's surface temperature as a result of the build up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
These gases trap heat, and over time this leads to a gradual warming of the earth.
The leading greenhouse gas that is a result of human activity is carbon dioxide, according to Alicia Lynch.
Lynch is the global warming campaign director for Bluewater Network, the San Francisco-based environmental organization that sponsored Wednesday's meeting.
"The United States creates about 24 percent of all greenhouse gases and yet we only comprise 3 percent of the world's population," said panelist Rod Diridon, executive director of the Mineta transportation institute and chair of the National Research Council's panel on combating global warming through sustainable transportation policy.
Panelist Stephen Schneider, Ph.D., a professor of environmental biology and global change at Stanford University, said, "We have been using the atmosphere as a free sewer over the past few decades ... We're back to planetary gambling and what kind of insurance do you buy?"
Schneider said he has been studying global warming for 30 years and added that though the current presidential administration is skeptical about the reality of the issue, that the science speaks for itself.
"The temperature climbed one degree in the past 100 years," said Russell Long, Bluewater Network's executive director.
Though one degree may not seem like much, Schneider said it is important to point out that the only difference between current warming period and the last ice age is six degrees.
"The only scientists that are saying that global warming is not real are the ones paid by industry," Lynch said.
The affects of this trend in warming include many repercussions, according to the information presented by the panelists.
"The Sierra snow pack holds 40 percent of California's water resources," said Long.
"We lose 500 feet of snowpack for each degree of warming," said panelist Pierre du Vair, manager of California Energy Commission's climate change program.
Other consequences discussed include a rise in sea level, which could displace many coastal communities and have negative effects on marine ecosystems as well as the supply of fresh water.
Panelist Dr. Robert Gould was present to represent Physicians for Social Responsibility and spoke about the indirect affects of global warming on human health.
"We could see a re-emergence of diseases such as yellow fever as well as a northward migration of malaria-carrying mosquitos," he said.
"We have a lot of choice in the future scenarios (of the planet)," Schneider said.
"It will be difficult to completely reverse global warming, but is possible to slow it down," Lynch said.
Along with her colleagues at Bluewater Network, Lynch said she has been working diligently to provide a solution towards the global warming dilemma, and on Tuesday some of that work paid off when the San Jose City Council passed a resolution supporting California Assembly Bill 1058 (A.B. 1058).
The bill, if passed, would regulate greenhouse gas pollution by targeting carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles.
"The research that we've done at the federal level indicates that about 40 percent of all of the greenhouse gases in the world are created by the internal combustion unit (in vehicles)," Diridon said.
By instructing the California Air Resources Board to "adopt regulations that achieve the maximum, feasible, cost-effective, and technologically achievable reductions of greenhouse gas pollution emitted by passenger vehicles," the bill will not put economic restraints on manufacturing companies, according to Tracy Lermen, a Bluewater Network grassroots organizer.
"The bill advises the California Air Resources Board to implement the maximum amount of regulation which is economically feasible," Lermen said.
Lynne Trulio, chair of the environmental studies department at San Jose State University, was present at the meeting and said she offered her students extra credit for attending the event.
"It would be good for our campus to understand (the connection between transportation) and greenhouse gases since we are a commuter campus," Trulio said. "Our level of greenhouse gases are one of our major impacts on the world as Americans."
The regulations of A.B. 1058, if adopted, would be in effect on Jan. 1, 2005, according to the bill's requirements.
"Ultimately, the goal of this is to get Congress involved," Long said. "Then other states can lawfully adopt the California Air Resources Board standards on global warming."
SJSU senior Alex Kobayashi is a field representative for Assembymember Manny Diaz, and was at the meeting for reasons of personal interest. Though the assembly isn't scheduled to reconvene until January to discuss the bill, Kobayashi said he strongly encourages the public to write letters to their assembly members and to voice their support or concerns about the bill.
Kobayashi said when Diaz considers supporting a bill, one of the first things he asks is what the public thinks.
"The most important way to let (our) assembly members know what the public thinks is through letter writing," he said. "I think it's a good bill and it's a good start."
More information about A.B. 1058 can be found at www.leginfo.ca.gov