Earth's Smells Are Disappearing Because of Climate Change, and It's a Vast Cultural Loss
Serena Jampel
Take a whiff of the air—chances are you’re smelling something this very moment. The human nose can detect more than one trillion scents. If this article were scratch-and-sniff, I’d be able to conjure the smell of old-growth forest and the ocean at daybreak, desert creosote after a rainfall or maybe even the aroma of a rosebush growing on an urban balcony.
But as a matter of medium, I can’t bring those scents to life on the page—and that’s a pity, as scientists say many odors are disappearing...