Physicist Freeman Dyson dismisses the threat of global warming — an ultimately benign occurrence in what Dyson says is still “a relatively cool period in the earth’s history.”

Rising carbon-dioxide levels in the atmosphere are a sign that “the climate is actually improving rather than getting worse,” because carbon acts as an ideal fertilizer promoting forest growth and crop yields.

If needed, carbon-eating trees could be genetically engineered to absorb more carbon than normal trees, he suggests.