From Climate Etc.

by Douglas Sheil

Last week an article in Science, by Seo and colleagues, provided compelling evidence that the world’s land surface is getting drier. This global drying averaged a loss across all land surfaces of over two centimeters of water in two decades.

The trends suggest these losses continue. The authors highlighted the role of climate warming in this desiccation and claimed the changes are “permanent”. https://lnkd.in/eUV82jjV
This claim of permanence was repeated uncritically in a shorter commentary piece in the same issue of the journal. https://lnkd.in/e5r2_4mp

Pierre L. Ibisch and I see these trends differently. The changes may indeed be permanent but they needn’t be. It’s up to us. The role of land cover has been overlooked and is key. It wont be easy but with sufficient effort we should be able to fix this.

We submitted our comments to Science and the text is now appended below the online version of the original article (an “eLetter”). It is open access if you click through here: https://lnkd.in/eUV82jjV

The Earth is drying. Seo et al. (1) highlight an alarming shift: while for most of the planet’s history, a warming climate brought a wetter, greener world (2, 3), it now brings desiccation (1, 4). Our biosphere’s water-regulating functions are broken.

“While climate science and policy focus on greenhouse gases, they often neglect vegetation’s role in keeping the planet cool and hydrated. Forests, wetlands, and other ecosystems regulate temperatures and drive the water cycle (5) — but degradation has impaired these services. Feedbacks from droughts, heatwaves, and declining vegetation now amplify local and regional warming (6, 7). Nonlinear responses risk abrupt shifts and catastrophic tipping points (8, 9).

Solutions become clear when we recognise water and vegetation as partners in climate regulation. Protecting and restoring forests and wetlands does more than sequester carbon — it rebuilds the processes that keep landscapes cool, moist, and productive. Managing land to increase infiltration, reduce runoff, and restore soil water storage helps sustain transpiration and cool the land (5, 9-11). We need to revive a “sponge planet” (12) and support place-based innovations like “sponge cities” that enhance water retention where it’s most needed (13).

Policymakers must act boldly to safeguard “green water” (5, 14). Land-use decisions must prioritise ecosystems that regulate moisture and climate. Strong incentives are essential: those who degrade should pay; those who protect and restore must be rewarded. The message is simple and urgent: a cool, moist, green planet is our best defence against a drier, warmer world. It remains possible. The time to act is now.

References

1. K.-W. Seo et al., Science 387, 1408-1413 (2025).
2. U. Salzmann et al., Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 309, 1-8 (2011).
3. M. T. Clementz, J. O. Sewall, Science 332, 455-458 (2011).
4. P. De Luca, M. G. Donat, Geophysical Research Letters 50, e2022GL102493 (2023).
5. D. Ellison et al., Global Environmental Change 43, 51-61 (2017).
6. C. Smith, J. C. A. Baker, D. V. Spracklen, Nature,  (2023).
7. D. L. Schumacher, J. Keune, P. Dirmeyer, D. G. Miralles, Nature Geoscience 15, 262-268 (2022).
8. T. M. Lenton et al., Proceedings of the national Academy of Sciences 105, 1786-1793 (2008).
9. A. M. Makarieva et al., Global Change Biology 29, 2536–2556 (2023).
10. D. Ellison, J. Pokorný, M. Wild, Global Change Biology 30, e17195 (2024).
11. D. Sheil, Forest Ecosystems 5, 1-22 (2018).
12. K. Yu, E. Gies, W. W. Wood, Nature Water, 1-3 (2025).
13. Z. Zheng, X. Zhang, W. Qiao, R. Zhao, Water Resources Management, 1-15 (2025).
14. L. Wang-Erlandsson et al., Nature Reviews Earth & Environment 3, 380-392 (2022).

Because sometimes, the science isn’t settled—but the bill is due.

After more than a decade of legal proceedings, climate scientist and courtroom hobbyist Dr. Michael E. Mann has been ordered to pay $530,000+ in legal fees to National Review and Mark Steyn.

Now, Dr. Mann faces his greatest existential threat yet—not rising temperatures, but rising legal bills.

It’s time to Help a Mann Out.

Fundraiser Goals

• $531,000 — Covers court-mandated payments and leaves just enough left over to commission a new graph.
• $750,000 — Includes overhead, paper shredding, and rebranding the phrase “academic integrity.”
• $1,000,000 — Unlocks a new round of litigation and enough surplus for a small Himalayan glacier-naming ceremony.

Donation Tiers

$100 — The Summary Judgment Tier

• Receive a thank-you email generated by a neural network trained on RealClimate blog posts.
• Includes access to a redacted copy of the amicus brief you weren’t allowed to read.

$1,000 — The Discovery Phase

• Includes all previous perks.
• Comes with an official Michael E. Mann Action Figure — complete with:
  • Hockey stick (nonfunctioning),
  • Courtroom suit (non-removable),
  • Red phone labeled “LAWYER HOTLINE,”
  • Slice of tree ring proxy data for conversation-starting decor.

$5,000 — The Offset Package

• All previous perks, plus:
• A printed certificate indicating you’ve offset the carbon footprint of one legal brief.
• Credits backed by post-modern climate ethics and four peer-reviewed feelings.

$10,000 — The Non-Interactive Dinner Experience

• All previous perks.
• A 45-minute Skype dinner with Dr. Mann.
• Rules:
  • You may not ask questions.
  • You must nod politely.
  • All dialogue must be pre-approved by a university communications officer.

Shipping & Handling

• The action figure will be shipped in packaging designed to resemble a congressional subpoena.
• Carbon credits will be sent by email (please print them to make them real).

🚫 Legal Disclaimer

“Help a Mann Out” is a parody campaign. Donations are not tax deductible, unless your accountant also believes CO₂ causes inflation. Michael E. Mann is not affiliated with this fundraiser and likely has his lawyer on speed dial already.

Don’t delay. Give today. And remember—when the temperature graph goes up, the legal defense fund must too.