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Christopher Colose

Research Scientist, SciSpace LLC, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies

Expertise: Atmospheric Science, Climate Dynamics, Planetary Atmospheres
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Deserts cool the planet by reflecting solar radiation to space; vegetated areas have an overall warming effect, so planting trees in deserts doesn’t necessarily cool the planet

"Deserts are heat producers, reflecting around 60% to 70% of the solar energy that falls on them straight back into the atmosphere."; "If we want to do something about global warming, we have to do something about deserts."

Source: The Guardian, Steve Rose, Ties Van der Hoeven, 2021-03-20

Scientists explain what New York Magazine article on “The Uninhabitable Earth” gets wrong

“While it is clear that ongoing warming of the global climate would eventually have very severe consequences, the concept of the Earth becoming uninhabitable within anywhere near the timescales suggested in the article is pure hyperbole. The author has clearly done very extensive research and addresses a number of climate threats that are indeed major issues, but generally the narrative ramps up the threat to go beyond the level that is supported by science.”

Analysis of "One of the most troubling ideas about climate change just found new evidence in its favor"

“Overall, this piece accurately describes the findings of a new research paper by Mann et al on linkages between rapid Arctic warming and extreme weather at Earth’s more temperate latitudes. While there are a couple of statements that are overly confident given available evidence in the peer-reviewed literature, the author generally does an excellent job placing this new work into the broader context of related studies over the past decade.”