Guest Thinkers — January 22, 2011

Measuring War’s Carbon Footprint

Some researchers have explored whether warfare might be explained in part by swings in climate. But what about the opposite effect? Can humanity’s skirmishes change the climate?

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A new study in The Holocene by Julia Pongratz of the Carnegie Institution for Science says it all comes down to a trade-off between people and trees: when a brutal war or devastating plague significantly reduces a human population, forests have the chance to re-grow and absorb carbon dioxide, mitigating the greenhouse effect. Pongratz reconstructed global land cover from 800 AD to the present and modelled the carbon cycle for the same time period in order to test how land usage influenced climate change.

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Life

World’s oldest forest found in New York state

The 385-million-year-old fossils show that trees evolved modern features millions of years earlier than previously estimated.

Hard Science

We are heading for a New Cretaceous, not for a new normal

The climate change we’re witnessing is more dramatic than we might think.

Politics & Current Affairs

Hawaii pledges to become carbon neutral by 2045

Hawaii continues its history of progressive climate policy by pledging to become carbon neutral by 2045, a move that would make it the first such state in the country.

Starts With A Bang

Weekend Diversion: The Simplest Solution to Rising CO2

It won’t solve everything, but there’s something we can all do to help sequester carbon. It’s as easy as planting a tree. “I believe that we are here for each […]

Pixelated red human figure on a black grid background with blue symmetrical curves and white geometric shapes adjacent.

Hard Science

The Arecibo Message fifty years later

In November 1974, astronomers used the radio telescope at Puerto Rico’s Arecibo Observatory to send a hello to the universe.

Up Next

Surprising Science

Writing Is Better Than Typing

The act of writing helps you clarify your thoughts, remember things better, and reach your goals more surely than typing on a computer. Is the pen truly mightier than the keyboard?