"Chumps like you believe in your climate messiah "
There is no climate messiah. We have to do this on our own.
COP21: 'A trillion trees to the rescue'
Science & Environment
 Tom Crowther garnered international interest in September when his group published an estimate for the number of trees on Planet Earth - 3,041,000,000,000. Here, the Yale University scientist explains how his team came to this figure and how it's being used.
Since we published the map of the world's trees, my colleagues and I have been bombarded with inquiries about the implications of this work. "It is interesting to know the number of trees in the world," people have told us, "but why is it useful?"
As the political world gears up for the final few days of COP21, I think that these are exactly the kinds of questions that people should be asking of scientists.
 Image copyrightTom Crowther/Yale UniIn the face of climate change - one of the most significant global threats to life as we know it - it is our duty as scientists to help environmental stewards and decision-makers by filling critical gaps in our knowledge.
Climate change is a complex, global issue, the consequences of which must be addressed across a multitude of political, societal, economic and scientific fronts.
However, in order to mitigate its effects, we are faced with one clear challenge: we must remove carbon from the atmosphere. |
