Many of the things Bill McKibben worried about when he first used the phrase "global warming" in 1989 have come to pass.
As he wrote in his latest book, "Eaarth," which he will discuss at Endicott College on Feb. 9, the buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has reached and passed the point where it can irreversibly damage the environment.
That threshold was identified in 2007 by a scientist named James Hansen as 350 parts per million and now stands at 390 ppm.
McKibben lists many devastating effects from this sad achievement, all of which he attributes to the burning of fossil fuels.
But the ultimate result is that we have fundamentally changed the nature of the world we live in, McKibben said.
"It's a different place," he wrote in his book. "A different planet. It needs a new name. Eaarth."
This new world challenges its inhabitants with two tasks: getting back to an atmosphere with 350 ppm of carbon dioxide and preserving what is left of the nature we knew.
To aid in these endeavors, McKibben has organized 350.org, a movement that has held 15,000 rallies in 189 countries since 2009 and recently protested the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada, which was rejected by President Barack Obama.
Locals who have heeded McKibben's message include Sarah Creighton, who worked on sustainability issues at Tufts for 20 years and was recently hired to do the same at Endicott College.
"He is an important thinker on these issues," Creighton said.
Though there is a bleak aspect to McKibben's message, it also contains a positive side, in Creighton's view.
"If you think how our energy use has increased in the last century, given the amount of infrastructure we've built, there's no reason we can't do something on that scale again," she said, "but with a different design in mind."
In her position at Endicott, Creighton has led several initiatives, including increasing recycling, making older buildings more energy-efficient and making sure new buildings are environmentally friendly.
"We've done about $350,000 worth of lighting upgrades," Creighton said. "They have saved about 350 tons of carbon dioxide a year, and $100,000 to $150,000 a year on our utility bill."
McKibben's visit is also being co-sponsored by Salem Sound Coastwatch, a local nonprofit that monitors water quality and wildlife in the Salem Sound watershed.
"I think it's important that we all understand what's ahead of us," said Barbara Warren, executive director. "He is the international champion of this realization."
Challenges facing the North Shore include sea levels that have risen a foot over the past century, Warren said, threatening coastal environments and the communities built near them.
Lisa Lillelunde, an environmental sustainability consultant who founded Mango Networks of Beverly, admires the way McKibben makes complex scientific issues understandable.
She sees her job as helping corporate clients appreciate the importance of sustainability and environmental stewardship to their bottom lines and said the message is getting through.
No one has driven home the importance of the environmental message better than Bill McKibben, said Lillelund, who plans to attend the talk with several colleagues.
"He's devoted his life to keeping our air and land and water from being contaminated and being destroyed," she said. "This should be important to all of us."
If you go
What: "Eaarth, A New Planet," talk by Bill McKibben
When: Thursday, Feb. 9, 7 p.m.
Where: Wax Academic Center Auditorium, Endicott College, 376 Hale St., Beverly
Admission: Free
More information: www.endicott.edu
