Ripe's video: Why the Surprising Reason the Earth is Getting Greener by India and China

Earth is facing a climate crisis, but despite fears about desertification going hand in hand with global warming, the planet is getting greener, not browner. A new NASA study finds that green and leafy areas have expanded by 5 percent since the turn of the millennium, an amount equalling the size of the entire Amazon rainforest. And researchers claim that most of this increase was driven by human activity, especially in China and India. On the one hand, a rise in plant growth may stem naturally from the same factors driving global warming. More CO2 in the atmosphere and a wetter global climate create hospitable conditions for plants to thrive. Still, human activities are also a contributing factor - the increase in greenery includes both increased agriculture and efforts to regrow old forests. "China and India account for one-third of the greening, but contain only 9% of the planet's land area covered in vegetation -- a surprising finding, considering the general notion of land degradation in populous countries from overexploitation," said Chi Chen, the lead author of the NASA study. In India, the rise in green space is mostly driven by agriculture, but in China, the largest contributors are new forests. NASA credits the Chinese with founding forest conservation programs to combat climate change, as well as reduce the effects of erosion. Still, the NASA researchers stress that this resurgence of greenery doesn’t make up for environmental damage elsewhere, citing deforestation in places like Brazil, Indonesia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Ripe is one of the first US media production company dedicated to telling plant-based, vegan, and environmental stories. ​ ​We only produce original digital video content including TV series, documentaries, breaking & current news, and exclusive interviews with industry leaders. ​ It is our promise to provide you with informative, entertaining, and well produced content on all things plant-based, vegan and environmental. You can watch our shows, news, interviews, and documentaries directly on our website, Facebook and YouTube channel. We are 100% independently funded out of pocket with no big backers, angel investors, or secret sponsorship fees... ​With warm regards, ​The Ripe Team SUBSCRIBE HERE: https://www.youtube.com/ripewatch CHECK US OUT: Ripewatch.com FOLLOW RIPE: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ripewatch Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ripewatch Twitter: https://twitter.com/ripewatch