Wikipedia:Today's featured article/March 8, 2023

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Foote's 1856 paper
Foote's 1856 paper

Eunice Newton Foote (1819–1888) was an American inventor, women's rights campaigner, and the first scientist to conclude that rising levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) could impact climate. Born in Connecticut, she was raised in New York at the center of movements such as the abolition of slavery, anti-alcohol activism, and women's rights. The Troy Female Seminary and Rensselaer School gave her a broad education in science. After marrying an attorney in 1841, Foote settled in Seneca Falls. She signed the Declaration of Sentiments and edited the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention's proceedings. In 1856 she published a paper (pictured) demonstrating the absorption of heat by CO2 and water vapor, hypothesizing that changing amounts of atmospheric CO2 would alter the climate. Foote died in 1888; her contributions were largely unknown before being rediscovered by women academics in the late 20th century. The American Geophysical Union instituted the Eunice Newton Foote Medal for Earth-Life Science in 2022. (Full article...)

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