Conversation in English with subtitles available in English, Dutch and French.

Valerie Trouet (1974) is an Associate Professor in the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research at the University of Arizona. Valerie has been a dendrochronologist for almost two decades and her research focuses on the climate of the past 2,000 years and how it has influenced human systems and ecosystems. Her research has been covered by the New York Times, The Guardian, and National Geographic, amongst others. Valerie's first book, Tree Story, was published in Spring 2020.

“We are at one of the most exciting times that I can think of to be a scientist. We have so much data that we can work with. We have all the computing power that we can think of. We are in a better position to do top-notch science then we ever were. What keeps me going is reminding myself of what all we as humans are capable of.”

“One thing that strikes me often, for instance in Belgium, is that climate change is still seen as related to nature, biodiversity and ecology. That's where the movement to act upon climate change originally came from. But what worries me at this point is what climate change is going to do to so many humans. Anyone who is worried about the economy or society should be worried about climate change as well.”