Climate change and fossil fuels: How big is the problem?

Sometimes, talking to friends or my family, I notice that different people have the same feeling: every winter is becoming colder than the last one, while the summer is hotter compared to the previous one. As much as I wish it were just a feeling, the data points to an alarming scenario. Global temperatures recently passed the critical 1.5°C increase, which results in extreme weather, severe storms, increased drought, loss of animal and plant species, and health risks. The carbon-based organisms that decomposed millions of years ago formed the fossil fuels that we have used since the Industrial Revolution, with an extremely heavy and uncontrolled burning since then. There are many potential causes of global climate change, but the biggest consensus among scientists is that the continuous burning of fossil fuels is primarily responsible.

Dr. Chagas's fellowship is under the supervision of Dr. Rebecca Smith at UW-Madison's Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center at the Wisconsin Energy Institute.