26revealed
Petrichor.The smell of rain on
dry earth. Nothing quite like it. While
the intensely green landscape feeds
the visual senses, the world seems
in balance once again. Despite Man’s
affinity towards the ocean, there is an
equally strong attraction for earthy
quintessence. No better news then,
that despite the constant gloomy
reports of deforestation and habitat
loss, recent research suggests the
world has actually become greener
over the past decade.
The study, carried out by Yi Liu,
ARC DECRA Fellow in Earth Observation
at the University of New South Wales,
Australia; Albert Van Dijk, Professor
of Water Science and Management,
Fenner School of Environment and
Society at the Australian National
University; and Pep Canadell,
Executive director, Global Carbon
Project at the Commonwealth
Scientific and Industrial Research
Organisation, noted that despite
ongoing clear-cutting in South Americaand Southeast Asia, the decline in
these regions has been offset by
recovering forests outside the tropics,
as well as new growth in the drier
savannas and shrublands of Africa
and Australia.
Plants absorb around a quarter of
the carbon dioxide that people release
into the atmosphere by burning fossil
fuels. With a greening globe, more
plants may mean more absorption of
carbon dioxide. If so, this will slow but
not stop climate change.Hope in the Midst
are we going carbon negative?
Higashi Iya, Shikoku, Japan:
Nature’s expediency and
beauty reflected in the Oku
Iya Kazura-bashi, the famous
double vine bridges over the
Iya riverPHOTO MACDUFF EVERTON/SUPERSTOCK/CORBIS