NPR

To Predict Effects Of Global Warming, Scientists Looked Back 20,000 Years

More than 40 researchers concluded that climate change would make ecosystems such as deciduous forests, grasslands and Arctic tundra unrecognizable.
As the climate warms, drought is killing large numbers of trees in California. Scientists are looking to the past to try and understand how the ecosystems of today may be changing.

A warming world could eventually make some of our most familiar ecosystems — deciduous forests, grasslands, Arctic tundra — unrecognizable.

That's the conclusion of a team of over 40 scientists who took a novel approach to predicting the effects of how human-caused global warming will alter ecosystems. They looked about 20,000 years back in time.

"Certainly many of my colleagues in climate-change ecology would give up a kidney to

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from NPR

NPR2 min readCrime & Violence
After Two Boeing 737 Max Crashes, Families Are Still Seeking Answers From DOJ
More than five years after two 737 MAX crashes killed 346 people, families of the victims are still pushing the Justice Department to hold Boeing accountable. They're frustrated by the response.
NPR5 min read
Netflix's 'Baby Reindeer': A Dark, Haunting Story Bungles Its Depiction Of Queerness
The new series, based on creator and star Richard Gadd's one-man show, depicts queer sexuality as something that happens to people.
NPR1 min readInternational Relations
Haiti's Prime Minister Ariel Henry Has Resigned As A Transitional Council Takes Over
Haiti's de facto prime minister, Ariel Henry, has formally stepped down and a new transitional council has been sworn in. Finance chief Michel Patrick Boisvert is the new interim prime minister.

Related Books & Audiobooks