A sustainable planet needs scientists to think ahead

摘要

In Frank Herberts 1965 science-fiction classic Dune, the number-one position on the planet is held not by a politician, but by a planetary ecologist. His job is to oversee the long-term conversion of the desert planet to a lush biosphere-a role demanding formidable far-sightedness. On Earth, the human population is set to top 9 billion within two generations. Meanwhile, we are altering, in profound and uncontrolled ways, key biological, physical and chemical processes of ecosystems on which this growing population will depend.