“When people are talking about mitigation of climate change, they should include a microbiologist.” – Jay Lennon, Indiana University Bloomington #GlobalCarbonFeeAndDividendPetition

2 comments

1. TL;DR Although microbes underlie everything to such an extent that it has been said “*microbes rule the world”,* nonetheless microbial responses are not in climate models and microbiologists aren’t help write the literature reviews or policy recommendations.

   Excerpt

   *Microorganisms are the base of all the world’s food chains, and their responses to climate change will have wide-ranging implications for biodiversity, fisheries and agriculture. They also both produce and take up methane, carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide on tremendous scales — so that when it comes to controlling global emissions, they can be either friend or foe.*
   *Despite these important contributions, microbes are not represented in climate models, and microbiologists don’t have a seat at the table for climate science and policy events such as COP28. Physicists, chemists and atmospheric scientists have driven these discussions, advising policymakers and researching and writing agenda-setting climate reports such as those published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).*

2. Actually, *every* conversation about the environment should include at least one microbiologist.

   We are far too focussed on the visible scale and far too blithely unconcerned about the microbial scale where the foundation for all life on this planet is laid.