Will Steffen fought passionately for our planet. To honour him we must follow his lead | Penny Sackett

I am filled with grief at losing my friend at a time when we need his calm, direct voice more than everThis week science lost one of its greatest Earth system experts, Australia lost a skilled, passionate communicator of climate science and the world lost a humble soul of the highest humanity, kindness and integrity. As did scores of others, I lost a colleague and friend when Will Steffen left us on Sunday after a battle with pancreatic cancer.It is impossible to overstate Will ’s impact on science. The many tributes to his work can only scratch the surface of his legacy. He led the effort to map the Great Acceleration of human impact on the physical and biological systems of our planet, culminating in consideration of the geological age of humans – theAnthropocene, first proposed by Nobel prize winner Paul Crutzen.As the climate system continues to spiral towards a potentially uncontrollable state, I am struck with an increasing sense of both anger and apprehension. I ’m angry because the lack of effective action on climate change, despite the wealth not of only scientific information but also of solutions to reduce emissions, has now created a climate emergency. The students are right. Their future is now being threatened by the greed of the wealthy fossil fue l elite, the lies of the Murdoch press, and the weakness of our political leaders. These people have no right to destroy my daughter’s future and that of her generation.I ’m apprehensive because the more we ...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Climate crisis Australia news Environment Climate science Source Type: news