Bronson Griscom, director of Forest Carbon Science at The Nature Conservancy, will present a Suter Science Seminar at Eastern Mennonite University Wednesday, March 28, at 4 p.m.
Griscom will discuss “Awakening the Sleeping Giant: Natural Climate Solutions.”
The seminar in Science Center Room 106 is free and open to the public.
All nations recently agreed to limit the global average temperature rise to less than 2°C. How much climate mitigation can nature contribute to this goal? Griscom researches “natural climate solutions,” 20 conservation, restoration, and improved land management actions that increase terrestrial carbon storage and avoid greenhouse gas emissions across global forests, wetlands, grasslands and agricultural lands.
That work shows that natural climate solutions offer a larger portion than previously recognized of the cost-effective climate mitigation needed between now and 2030 to stabilize warming at below 2°C. Re-greening the planet offers a biological bridge for our transition to a carbon neutral economy and stable climate.
Prior to joining TNC, Griscom worked at the U.S. Department of State and the Canaan Valley Institute in West Virginia, studying restoration of high-elevation Appalachian forests. He completed a PhD in tropical forest ecology from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies in 2003, and received his master of science degree from New York University in plant genetics and conservation.
His happy place is his cabin by a babbling brook in the mountains of West Virginia with family and friends.
This is the fourth of five Suter Science Seminars this spring, which are made possible by the sponsorship of the Daniel B. Suter Endowment in Biology and the co-sponsorship of supporting programs.
The final seminar is April 11, and features Johns Hopkins University’s Jane Otai on “Keeping Informal Settlements Safe and Clean.”