6 books about the climate crisis that offer hope
6. Trees and Global Warming: The Role of Forests in Cooling and Warming the Atmosphere – William J. Manning (2020)
As climates change and Australia warms, trees are often seen as a panacea, but, as is invariably the case with ecosystems, things can be complicated.
As William J. Manning tells us in Trees and Global Warming, trees can warm as well as cool the atmosphere. The colour of their leaves (light or dark green) influences how much radiation is absorbed, transmitted and reflected, and how much they cool.
Manning is not looking at trees and forests through rose-coloured glasses, but through a strong scientific lens. They come out as winners when it comes to tackling climate change because, cultivated effectively, they can shade and cool, reduce the urban heat-island effect, sequester carbon, and much more.
Trees are an essential, cost-effective and sustainable part of living with climate change. We must protect the trees and forests that we have. Planting more trees is part of a quick and cheap solution, providing more liveable towns and cities across our continent.
Purchase a copy of Trees and Global Warming here.
By Greg Moore
This article was written by Euan Ritchie, Professor in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University; Erin O’Donnell, Early Career Academic Fellow, Centre for Resources, Energy and Environment Law, The University of Melbourne; Gregory Moore, Doctor of Botany, The University of Melbourne; Kristen Lyons, Professor, Environment and Development Sociology, The University of Queensland; Peter Christoff, Senior Research Fellow and Associate Professor, Melbourne Climate Futures initiative, The University of Melbourne, and Stefan Kaufman, Senior Research Fellow, Monash University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here.
