Anthony Barnosky first thought the e-mail was a joke. As an expert in species extinctions who had just sounded the alarm over looming environmental crises, he had grown used to bizarre messages filling his inbox. There was the creepy e-mail enjoining him to "waste himself" to reduce carbon emissions, a plug for carbon-storing "biorocks" and a note encouraging him to explore "yogic flying" to help humanity. So Barnosky was understandably suspicious of the one-line request to contact California governor Jerry Brown. He wearily left a voice message at the number listed, apologizing if he had been spoofed. Out on a run later that day, his phone rang. Brown was on the other end.
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