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China has added forest the size of Texas since 1990

e360.yale.edu

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

#431

Post by HexPhantom »

sometimes_all wrote: post #352
shubhamjain wrote: post #333

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Although low birth rates have now become a problem, back then it seemed like a solution. They haven't, imo. I am from India, and I have been hearing for the last two decades how we have avoided same mistakes as China and the latter is headed for a demographic collapse. China is only marching forward, and focusing more on automation to hedge its bets. While overpopulation in India has choked almost every city in Ind…

In my opinion, we might have avoided some of the mistakes, but that is still costing us. The best usually leave the country after getting the prime education India can provide, and support the retirement plans of other countries' aging populations more than their own - the Indian government actively seems to encourage this, looking at how our PM tries to negotiate for more visas during every first-world trip. Even wi…

The talent drain is real... when the system doesn't create enough high-quality opportunities at home, people are going to leave, no matter how patriotic they are.

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

#432

Post by coldtea »

catmanjan wrote: post #353
shubhamjain wrote: post #348

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Partially, yes! Population is #1 strain on resources. However, the political climate around 1970s was more like population would create large scale food shortages, famines, and without interventions, population would keep on growing forever. We at least now know that population peaks with prosperity, and food is largely a solved problem.

>food is largely a solved problem It really isn't...

Yeah, spoken like someone who only understands food as something that magically and without fail appears on their local stores.

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

#433

Post by HexPhantom »

hereme888 wrote: post #153

Wise to use forests to contain deserts. Problem is that China still plays a big role in importing deforestation-linked commodities and fund overseas projects that exacerbate global loses. There are low tree survival rates and falsified coverage, like the Three-North Shelterbelt program which is plagued by inefficiencies over its 40 years of operation. It's also hard to balance afforestation without causing scarcity o…

It's a bit of an environmental paradox: ambitious at home, extractive abroad

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

#434

Post by jampekka »

dgfl wrote: post #407
yanhangyhy wrote: post #357

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can answer this question. I’m a native-born Chinese, and I’ve never studied abroad. This year I just completed my first trip overseas, visiting the UAE. First of all, I don’t think China is a fully democratic system, but it’s not an outright dictatorship either. At the same time, I don’t think the two-party voting system in the U.S. qualifies as democracy either. One of the biggest drawbacks of Western criticism of…

Don’t you think you’ve been influenced by propaganda? You have admitted yourself that you couldn’t even find information on Naomi Wu. I’ve lived in Europe my whole life. I’ve never been robbed or felt unsafe. It’s also a very diverse region so it’s hard to generalize. But the supposed “decay of the west” is mostly internal propaganda from our very own anti-migration right wingers. But regardless, I’d take having a 0.…

In general Europe is quite safe, but tourists scammed in some more popular destinations does happen quite a bit.

But Europe is also quite heterogeneous. E.g. in Scandinavia getting scammed or pickpocketed is really rare, but in say Barcelona or Rome the chance is a lot higher. Violent crime like robbery is in general very rare everywhere.

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

#435

Post by HexPhantom »

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.

While the trend looks positive on paper, it's worth digging into the quality and type of vegetation being added

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

#436

Post by [deleted] »

brabel wrote: post #401
Arainach wrote: post #284

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Somehow" we did that back when we believed in a strong federal government working for the benefit of the people. It's no wonder that we lost the ability after decades of anti-government propaganda and regulatory capture.

There’s a good argument for America having been able to do all it did despite being a democracy without a strong central government, not because of it. Look around the world and see how many countries managed to achieve similar success using the same liberal principles? Most of Europe became rich under imperialist, authoritarian governments not with their current system. I would love to see a good counter argument th…

[deleted]

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

#438

Post by tossandthrow »

coldtea wrote: post #426
tossandthrow wrote: post #424

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The main issue with a demographic decline is that fewer people can live of their wealth. This is in particular a problem for the older generation. But if you are not a big believer in retirement, then there are no issues with demographic shifts.

There are MANY issues with a demographic decline, "that fewer people can live of their wealth" is the least of it. Less productive hands (60 year olds are not as productive as 20 and 30 year olds, especially in any industrial and labor intensive field, but also in intellectual ones - who would have thought?). More older people in need of health support. Less dynamic society. Slowing economy. Beyond some (not very low…

From me what you mention seems to be derivative of the retirement argument where you clearly state that those not being able to work as much and have higher maintainance needs are the ones at disadvantage.

Living of wealth does not only mean your own wealth. That is also state wealth as in getting services redistributed to you.

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

#439

Post by adornKey »

galagawinkle489 wrote: post #208
cyberax wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The TLDR is that they aren't. Global warming made some areas more hospitable to forests (warmer, more precipitation) and increased drought resistance counteracts some of the increased aridity in other ares: https://e360.yale.edu/features/greening-drylands-carbon-diox...

The atmosphere has so far barely changed in temperature compared to natural variations in temperature over time that had smaller and lesser effects than the effect we are seeing. The abnormally rapid rise in CO2 levels we are seeing is unusual and accords better with the unusualness of rapid global greening. It isn't climate change that is causing it. It is CO2, directly.

If you look at the absorption spectrum of CO2 and historical data, I think it would be more correct to say, that CO2 has caused a noticeable increase in temperature in the past, but now absorption has reached a saturation level. The last 100 years temperature effects might have been dominant, but in the future direct effects of CO2 are absolutely going to dominate.

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

#440

Post by yanhangyhy »

grumpy-de-sre wrote: post #422
yanhangyhy wrote: post #393

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe this is a surprise. Nowadays, young people are increasingly fond of Mao. He wasn’t a perfect person, but he spent his entire life exploring communism and trying to finally eliminate wealth inequality and privileged classes. Older people might not like him as much, because they were more influenced by the West and dislike China’s system more. But with China’s rise and Trump’s hypocrisy, I can predict that Mao wi…

It's worth acknowledging that Mao became increasingly erratic with age. Some of his early achievements are still very much seen in a positive light (eg. as a nation builder).

yes. in my earlier age, the offical statement from CCP of him is 70% achievement and 30% fault. but as the inequality increase in china, people has more positive view of him.
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