ESSIC/AOSC Professor Raghu Murtugudde recently published an article in Tech2 titled, “The Trouble with Relying on Trees as Carbon Sink to Do Our Global Warming Bidding”.
In the piece, Murtugudde tackles the commonly-held notion that forests are a net ‘sink’ of carbon and a major player in mitigating global warming.
He writes that though trees certainly help capture carbon, they also emit a number of emit a number of Volatile Organic Carbon compounds (VOCs). One VOC, isoprene, can combine with nitrogen oxides to form ozone, a potent contributor to global warming.
“Forests aren’t likely to run out, or run out of style any time soon, but their net impact on Earth’s climate, the water cycle and carbon uptake have to be studied further,” Murtugudde writes.
In addition to his work at ESSIC, Murtugudde is an Affiliate Professor for the Department of Geology currently serving as a Visiting Professor in Bombay, India. He works primarily in climate studies, exploring the co-evolution of life and climate and what it means for sustainability. He also writes a blog hosted on the ESSIC website.
Read the article here: The Trouble with Relying on Trees as Carbon Sink to Do Our Global Warming Bidding.
