An “unusual greening of the planet,” reports German science magazine Wissenschaft. “A paradox.”
Hat-tip: Die kalte Sonne
Has been greening for 3 decades
While it is widely reported how the world’s rainforests are being chopped down, Wissenschaft reports, “Vegetation on earth has been expanding for decades, satellite data show.”
Yes, the planet is in fact greening, and this is embarrassing climate alarmists, who over the years managed to mislead much of the media and public into believing the planet has been “browning” and thirsting to death.
Confirmed by IPCC
“The opposite is the case: according to a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, satellite observations show a greening of vegetation over the past three decades in parts of Asia, Europe, South America, Central North America and Southeast Australia,” reports Wissenschaft magazine. “Although there are regions that would become browner, the bottom line is that there is a larger area on our planet that is greened than browned.”
Thanks to CO2 fertilization
For the welcome trend, scientists attribute the surprising development on “a mixture of factors”, foremost the recent increase in atmospheric CO2 concentration, which plants thrive on and humans have been mislead into believing is a “pollutant”.
“It is often forgotten that CO2 is not only a ‘problem’, but also a plant nutrient” that forms a crucial part of the “basis of the food chain,” reported Wissenschaft. In short: More atmospheric CO2 means more plant growth, and thus more food for more life.”
That has become an inconvenient fact for alarmists and climate activists, who insist life on the planet is dying.
Rainforests still threatened
Other suspected contributing factors include: nitrogen deposition, land-use changes and reforestation projects. But Wissenschaft warns that man-made greenery through agriculture and reforestation falls far short in terms of biotope quality, and so destruction of virgin rainforests remains a huge problem that requires real action.
Wissenschaft summarizes: “The bottom line, most experts say, is that from an ecological point of view the phenomenon of greening cannot replace the losses.”
CO2 lending a huge hand of support
The good thing: More CO2 in the atmosphere will certainly make the job of protecting vegetation and life far easier.