SUMMARY - The single most important action you can take today to fight climate change is to help save a NASA laser that measures forests from space. By measuring the amount of carbon captured and stored by forests, the GEDI sensor enables scientists, governments, and entrepreneurs to achieve the huge potential of forests to reduce greenhouse gases. But GEDI will be inactivated soon unless action is taken in the coming weeks. Representative Mikie Sherrill (NJ 11th) leads the U.S. House subcommittee that oversees environmental sensors like GEDI, and we’re sending her a message of support to continue prioritizing climate solutions by keeping GEDI up and running.  

“Congresswoman Sherrill, we have your back to prioritize science for climate solutions in your role as the Chair of the House Science Environment Subcommittee. Please join your fellow members of congress in publicly calling for NASA's forest carbon measurement mission (the GEDI sensor) to be kept in operation so that the Biden administration can keep its climate commitments.”

UPDATE 10/24/22: Thanks to your signatures Congresswoman Sherrill's office has engaged with NASA and with the GEDI Program Team to help identify feasible solutions to continue GEDI's science mission, which complements the actions of the Maryland congressional delegation who have taken the lead on political efforts to #saveGEDI. Read more about a recent proposed solution and stay tuned until a final decision is reached by NASA in December 2022. 

THE STORY

As a resident of New Jersey’s 11th District, I am proud to be represented by Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill. She is a powerful advocate for climate solutions as the leader of the House subcommittee that oversees federal programs for environmental science. 

One of these programs is the Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI). GEDI is an innovative NASA sensor that measures forest carbon from the International Space Station. Forests are essential to fight climate change, and GEDI data has supercharged a new era of innovative climate solutions and forest preservation. 

Unfortunately, unless action is taken GEDI will be mothballed soon, just when its data is needed most, to be replaced by a defense department AI experiment. Forest carbon scientists and entrepreneurs agree that saving GEDI is a top priority for harnessing the immense potential of forests to fight climate change. 

This has been yet another year of unprecedented heat, drought, and storms across the U.S. and globally. It is not too late to prevent the worst effects of climate change, but we must act now and we can’t afford to step backwards by losing irreplaceable insights provided by GEDI.

We stand with Rep. Sherrill in the fight against climate change, and we ask her to join other members of congress in publicly calling for the GEDI forest measurement mission to be saved at a time when climate science and solutions are needed most. 

MORE DETAILS

NASA is on board to extend the GEDI mission, but the decision is not theirs alone to make. What is needed:

1. The Biden administration must prioritize climate solutions by supporting NASA to continue the GEDI mission and by directing the DoD to coordinate their experiments on the ISS in a way that does not disrupt essential climate science 
2. Extend the GEDI mission through fiscal year 2025 (estimated cost: $5M to $10M)

How GEDI Fights Climate Change:

1. Forests represent 30% or more of the global capacity to pull carbon dioxide from the atmosphere over the next 15 years
2. This can be accomplished in several ways: preventing loss of forests, improving management of existing forests, and expanding forests via regrowth and planting 
3. GEDI provides unprecedented detail about where and how much carbon is captured in forests; if the mission is extended it can also measure how quickly carbon is being captured
4. Data from GEDI unlocks climate solution innovation and impact via:
   • Governments: measuring the impact of forest policies, verifying whether climate goals are met 
   • Scientists: learning how to optimize forest health in a changing climate 
   • Land Owners & Managers: forecasting forest health, getting paid for carbon capture and biodiversity benefits from intact forests 
   • Entrepreneurs: creating financial incentives for intact forests that provide carbon capture, biodiversity, water management, and improved quality of life