To measure or not to measure? Professor Arjan Hensen says: Do it, but... His inaugural lecture is about greenhouse gas, nitrogen, and what else lies ahead of us.
In our country, we have been dealing with the three issues of climate, nitrogen, and air pollution for about 50 years now. We make decisions and take measures (or postpone them) with both socio-economic consequences and impacts on our planet, our environment, and our health.
Because measures are becoming increasingly drastic, we seek information that shows the state of our environment, whether measures are helping, and if they are necessary. Measurements, if well executed, provide objective information. Instruments that measure in the atmosphere reveal what you can't see with the naked eye but is nonetheless there. And these instruments are getting better and better.
So: is it measurable or not? What is technically possible? Do we want to measure? Or do we prefer to decide for ourselves what we 'know'? And if you, as a student, have the choice now, would you choose a career in measurement? Hensen says: do it!