650047 external_news 1629838039 1629838039 If a tree fell in an ancient forest, what can it tell scientists today? Scientists look to the past to understand what’s coming in the future. What’s special about ginkgo trees is that their fossils often preserve actual plant material, not simply a leaf’s impression. And that thin sheet of organic matter may be key to understanding the ancient climate system — and the possible future of our warming planet. Kim Cobb, Georgia Power Chair and ADVANCE Professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, weighs in on what past "hothouse" climates on the ancient Earth teach us about current climate change. 

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