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There was a similar report two years ago from NASA that the world had gone greener over 20 years primarily due to India and China. But I couldn’t find the break

There was a similar report two years ago from NASA that the world had gone greener over 20 years primarily due to India and China. But I couldn’t find the breakdown of it by country. https://www.nasa.gov/feature/ames/human-activity-in-china-and-india-dominates-the-greening-of-earth-nasa-study-shows https://www.nasa.gov/feature/ames/human-activity-in-china-an... https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/144540/china-and-india-lead-the-way-in-greening https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/144540/china-and-in...

vixen99 5y ago
No it isn't primarily due to India and China. The greening of the earth is a universal phenomenon caused by the global increase in carbon dioxide. Carbon for plant growth has to come from somewhere and in general there are very limited carbon sources within the soil. https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2016/carbon-dioxide-fertilization-greening-earth https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2016/carbon-dioxide-fer.... https://www.noaa.gov/news/study-global-plant-growth-surging-alongside-carbon-dioxide https://www.noaa.gov/news/study-global-plant-growth-surging-... https://www.nature.com/articles/nclimate3004 https://www.nature.com/articles/nclimate3004 The massive increase in agricultural productivity due to this greening has not been a widely advertised observation. NASA has pointed out the pros and cons of this (i.e., the greening).
- CodeGlitch 5y ago
  I wonder if it also has to do with the massive decrease in the need for paper due to an increase in computers at the end of the 20th century. "The paperless office." Also other sources of fuel other than wood for burning.
  - Cthulhu_ 5y ago
    Nah I don't think so, because demand for paper has shifted to things like cardboard. And of course, global population has gone up by a lot. Wood hasn't been a popular choice for a long time, things like coal, peat, oil, petroleum and gas have been more prevalent for the hundreds of years before the current systems of gas or electric heating. Wood is more of a last resort, or something more idyllic.
- mrjangles 5y ago
  Not surprising considering all life on earth evolved when the atmosphere had between 5 and 10 times as much CO2 as today. At the current levels plants are, essentially, suffocating from lock of CO2, so I small increase can have a huge affect on their growth rates (as greenhouse operators know). I remember reading that CO2 levels have been dropping for the last 500 million years, and, during the last Ice age, CO2 level dropped as low as 180ppm. Had they reached 150ppm, all surface life would have died, and humans wouldn't have made it.

vixen99 5y ago

No it isn't primarily due to India and China. The greening of the earth is a universal phenomenon caused by the global increase in carbon dioxide. Carbon for plant growth has to come from somewhere and in general there are very limited carbon sources within the soil. https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2016/carbon-dioxide-fertilization-greening-earth https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2016/carbon-dioxide-fer.... https://www.noaa.gov/news/study-global-plant-growth-surging-alongside-carbon-dioxide https://www.noaa.gov/news/study-global-plant-growth-surging-... https://www.nature.com/articles/nclimate3004 https://www.nature.com/articles/nclimate3004 The massive increase in agricultural productivity due to this greening has not been a widely advertised observation. NASA has pointed out the pros and cons of this (i.e., the greening).

CodeGlitch 5y ago
I wonder if it also has to do with the massive decrease in the need for paper due to an increase in computers at the end of the 20th century. "The paperless office." Also other sources of fuel other than wood for burning.
- Cthulhu_ 5y ago
  Nah I don't think so, because demand for paper has shifted to things like cardboard. And of course, global population has gone up by a lot. Wood hasn't been a popular choice for a long time, things like coal, peat, oil, petroleum and gas have been more prevalent for the hundreds of years before the current systems of gas or electric heating. Wood is more of a last resort, or something more idyllic.
mrjangles 5y ago
Not surprising considering all life on earth evolved when the atmosphere had between 5 and 10 times as much CO2 as today. At the current levels plants are, essentially, suffocating from lock of CO2, so I small increase can have a huge affect on their growth rates (as greenhouse operators know). I remember reading that CO2 levels have been dropping for the last 500 million years, and, during the last Ice age, CO2 level dropped as low as 180ppm. Had they reached 150ppm, all surface life would have died, and humans wouldn't have made it.