China has added forest the size of Texas since 1990 • Hacker News Board

Re: China has added forest the size of Texas since 1990

#21

Post by vondur » Wed, Oct 29, 2025, 9:36 PM UTC

smallnix wrote: post #4

maerF0x0 wrote: post #3

My immediate thought, yeah isnt that because they don't really naturally have the kinds of softwoods forests good for making boards and paper? And until more recently they were taking recycled paper/fiber from america in empty shipping containers returning. The real news is that it's also slightly happening in other developed countries too, another rhetoric point towards Steven Pinker's concept that as nations get ri…

At least some projects run longer I understand: > Last year China completed a project, begun in 1978, to plant a 2,000-mile-long belt of trees

I’d heard that project wasn’t going so well. The trees weren’t really suited to the areas where they were planted, and many died off. I suppose even if only a small percentage survive, it’s still better than desert.

Re: China has added forest the size of Texas since 1990

#22

Post by mistrial9 » Wed, Oct 29, 2025, 9:36 PM UTC

legitster wrote: post #16

It's really hard to understate how deforestation ravaged China - their forestry cover declined by almost half during The Great Leap Forward as the CCCP at the time pushed hard to exploit the land. As a result, there were severe and noticeable problems with flooding and desertification. So starting in the 70s they invested heavily in the "Three-North Shelter Forest Program" (aka the Great Green Wall). Although, probab…

as an American that was my understanding also.. small nit (understate deforestation) -> (overstate deforestation).. the phrase means "even if I talked for ten minutes with all the emphasis I can find, it would not be enough to show it.. you cannot OVERstate how serious the impact was..

Re: China has added forest the size of Texas since 1990

#23

Post by supportengineer » Wed, Oct 29, 2025, 9:37 PM UTC

Freedom2 wrote: post #8

Does this mean that you can drive in the forest for an entire day and still be in the forest?

You can do that in Virginia if you drive slowly enough, stay off the Interstate.

For example if you go from Cumberland Gap to Virginia Beach, a distance of 499 miles, it will take you 10 hours and 25 minutes.

Re: China has added forest the size of Texas since 1990

#24

Post by navigate8310 » Wed, Oct 29, 2025, 9:39 PM UTC

aiauthoritydev wrote: post #6

India too has been adding more green cover than ever. Higher CO2 in atmosphere leads to faster growth of forests. But more important factor is urbanization for India. As people move to cities the need to cut down trees goes down.

Doesn't that put pressure on the cities itself especially the peripheral counties to pave way for housing and concrete roads?

Re: China has added forest the size of Texas since 1990

#25

Post by themafia » Wed, Oct 29, 2025, 9:40 PM UTC

trhway wrote: post #17

coliveira wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think they're giving away the timber. It is a commercial exchange like any other.

Yes, it is a massive sale of natural resources with huge discounts in exchange for the war support.

They've been selling forestry products for decades. North Korea is also a big customer. Unsurprisingly, nations with existing and exclusive economic ties, tend to "support" each other.

North America does this with South America readily.

Re: China has added forest the size of Texas since 1990

#26

Post by FooBarWidget » Wed, Oct 29, 2025, 9:40 PM UTC

vondur wrote: post #21

smallnix wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At least some projects run longer I understand: > Last year China completed a project, begun in 1978, to plant a 2,000-mile-long belt of trees

I’d heard that project wasn’t going so well. The trees weren’t really suited to the areas where they were planted, and many died off. I suppose even if only a small percentage survive, it’s still better than desert.

They had setbacks for sure, but they learned from them and continuously adjusted their methods.

Re: China has added forest the size of Texas since 1990

#27

Post by conductr » Wed, Oct 29, 2025, 9:40 PM UTC

maerF0x0 wrote: post #3

My immediate thought, yeah isnt that because they don't really naturally have the kinds of softwoods forests good for making boards and paper? And until more recently they were taking recycled paper/fiber from america in empty shipping containers returning. The real news is that it's also slightly happening in other developed countries too, another rhetoric point towards Steven Pinker's concept that as nations get ri…

> as nations get richer they become more environmentally conscious, cause they can afford to care about it.

Thus far, getting rich has been dirty business. This is what leads people to care more so than them being able to afford to care. Their richness is a side effect of their pollution, thus, caring is a side effect of richness but that's not the root cause. Pollution -> Money -> Caring. If you removed the money, people still care they just can't afford to do anything about it.

I'm not familiar with Pinker or this theory, just poking at it :)

Re: China has added forest the size of Texas since 1990

#28

Post by Freedom2 » Wed, Oct 29, 2025, 9:40 PM UTC

iagooar wrote: post #12

Freedom2 wrote: post #8

Does this mean that you can drive in the forest for an entire day and still be in the forest?

Probably, yes. This is possible in Sweden, if you go from South to North, you can travel for multiple days by car and if you avoid highways, you will not leave the forest at all.

The joke I'm making is that many Texans like to make that statement about Texas (with regards to size and driving) and claim it's unique to that state and to the US without realizing that it's common for many other parts in the world as well.

Re: China has added forest the size of Texas since 1990

#29

Post by ivan_gammel » Wed, Oct 29, 2025, 9:41 PM UTC

trhway wrote: post #11

While Russia cuts more and more timber for export to China. In return for the support in the war (drone components, etc) China asks for even more and more timber and fresh water from Baikal.

The same article says Russia is on 2nd place in reforestation. They do export timber and can export more, while increasing the share of sustainably managed forests. But export of Baikal fresh water? That’s fake news. Didn’t happen and won’t happen, unless you mean just some bottled water.

Re: China has added forest the size of Texas since 1990

#30

Post by roncesvalles » Wed, Oct 29, 2025, 9:42 PM UTC

navigate8310 wrote: post #24

aiauthoritydev wrote: post #6

India too has been adding more green cover than ever. Higher CO2 in atmosphere leads to faster growth of forests. But more important factor is urbanization for India. As people move to cities the need to cut down trees goes down.

Doesn't that put pressure on the cities itself especially the peripheral counties to pave way for housing and concrete roads?

Cities tend to expand up. Almost all buildings in Mumbai that are under 5 stories are targeted for "redevelopment" i.e. a developer buying it out and building something taller in its place.