By continuously monitoring bacteria in the wastewater treatment plants, it should be possible to know whether the plants are
functioning under optimal conditions, so that remedial actions can be taken before a major problem arises.
The fundamental question relating to the use of tree rings as «temperature proxies» is, given that the wide tree rings clearly describe
optimal conditions (not too hot, not too cold; not to wet, not to dry; not too fertilised, not too
under fertilised; not too much CO2, not to little CO2; etc etc), how can the
function supposedly linking tree ring width and temperature be linear, as Mann et al appear to conclude?