World becoming greener thanks to efforts by China and India - Sensationalist Headlines

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/ames/human-activity-in-china-and-india-dominates-the-greening-of-earth-nasa-study-shows I'm so tired of hearing the "why should we try to improve the environment when the biggest polluters do nothing"

But it's worse than that

Because, idk, Satellite images show 'runaway' expansion of coal power in China.. I mean, don't get me wrong. I don't think we should "do nothing just because lol china" but pretending that these efforts by China and India are beneficial and therefor forgive their ridiculous environmental atrocities is naive, at best. Not to mention from your own article, "Land area used to grow crops is comparable in China and India – more than 770,000 square miles – and has not changed much since the early 2000s. Yet these regions have greatly increased both their annual total green leaf area and their food production. This was achieved through multiple cropping practices, where a field is replanted to produce another harvest several times a year. Production of grains, vegetables, fruits and more have increased by about 35-40% since 2000 to feed their large populations. How the greening trend may change in the future depends on numerous factors, both on a global scale and the local human level. For example, increased food production in India is facilitated by groundwater irrigation. If the groundwater is depleted, this trend may change." They're not just expanding 'good' vegetation, they're expanding farms and agriculture, a cornerstone of the destruction of natural biomes and healthy biodiversity, which have serious long-term/downstream consequences, like the increased proliferation of pesticides.

Not all who say such things are lost causes. I find many ordinary people will try to find each and every excuse that would absolve them from feeling obligated to make sacrifices for the greater good.

I thought china had one of the most polluted places on the planet? So are they cleaning up their already overly polluted places?

I mean you can only throw so much stuff in the air before people can start vacuuming it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HI8q_wDTARE

lmao also that post heavily implied we're being destroyed by china/india, funny this contradicts that

Sorry to rain on your parade, but as the article mentions, this is almost certainly due to an increase in agriculture, which became necessary due to the increased demand for crops with a massively growing population. This neither offsets the effects of air pollution in those countries, nor does it offset the damage of deforestation in others.

It's almost as if someone looked at satellite images, saw the color green, and thought "We're saved!". That's a childlike thought process. Even if it was only trees they were planting, they would not counteract the carbon output of their populations. And it's not all trees, its mostly food for their growing population, which means more carbon.

Because of desperation in the face of extinction.

I really expect more from a NASA article to be honest.

Didn't see who wrote the article, kind of embarrassing then.

it also means more sprawl transforming jungle into paved land. If India had industrialized as much as china did we'd probably have no hope of fixing global warming because look at what the chinese have done in terms of paving over areas in such a short time frame

They did take that into account in the article. China’s outsized contribution to the global greening trend comes in large part (42%) from programs to conserve and expand forests. These were developed in an effort to reduce the effects of soil erosion, air pollution and climate change. Another 32% there – and 82% of the greening seen in India – comes from intensive cultivation of food crops. Land area used to grow crops is comparable in China and India – more than 770,000 square miles – and has not changed much since the early 2000s. Yet these regions have greatly increased both their annual total green leaf area and their food production. This was achieved through multiple cropping practices, where a field is replanted to produce another harvest several times a year. Production of grains, vegetables, fruits and more have increased by about 35-40% since 2000 to feed their large populations.

A little (90% of their pollution would be solved with putting a goddamn filter), but they're planting trees more. Then they suck up all the pollution and you end up with shit like mercury-tainted wood

No one is thinking that. Did you really read the article? The researchers point out that the gain in greenness seen around the world and dominated by India and China does not offset the damage from loss of natural vegetation in tropical regions, such as Brazil and Indonesia. The consequences for sustainability and biodiversity in those ecosystems remain. If China and India are trying to stabilize their environment instead of razing it for even more profits, every other country can and should instead of pretending that it's pointless to do any good.

I would nearly classify it as fake news, as they don't take the whole story in. I already said this in another post, but I'll say it again. My grandfather (who worked at a coal-plant) told me that the power-grid requires a certain balance. Small generators (like windmills and solar panels) do contribute to the power-grit, but there still need to be a few large turbine to keep the 'flow'. Their power-grid aren't up to date, but they're slowly working on it. 2009: 72% of all windmills are connected to the power-grid. 2014: 84% of their windmills are connected. 2015: They slowdown the project. 2016: They allow coal-plants being build again for a 3 years period. "In an effort to reduce excess power capacity and encourage greater utilization of renewables". [Source]