{"id":374989,"date":"2025-04-13T20:27:41","date_gmt":"2025-04-13T18:27:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=374989"},"modified":"2025-04-13T20:27:43","modified_gmt":"2025-04-13T18:27:43","slug":"greening-without-co2-more-selective-science","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=374989","title":{"rendered":"Greening Without CO2? More Selective Science"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Charles Rotter<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In their lengthy and data-rich paper,\u00a0Mishra et al. (2025)<\/a>\u00a0examine the notable \u201cgreening\u201d of India\u2019s Thar Desert from 2001 to 2023. They credit this transformation to a combination of increased monsoon rainfall and human-driven groundwater irrigation. Precipitation is said to contribute 45% to this greening, and groundwater pumping 55%\u200b. While this allocation of credit is intriguing, what\u2019s truly shocking is what\u2019s\u00a0not<\/strong>\u00a0mentioned at all:\u00a0CO2 fertilization<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
https:\/\/www.cell.com\/cell-reports-sustainability\/fulltext\/S2949-7906(25)00060-6<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Not once in the entire 11,000+ word document does the term \u201ccarbon dioxide,\u201d \u201cCO\u2082,\u201d or even \u201cfertilization\u201d appear. This is despite the well-documented global evidence that increased atmospheric CO\u2082 boosts plant growth by enhancing photosynthesis and improving water-use efficiency. As Piao et al. (2019) noted in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment<\/em>, <\/a>\u201cVegetation models suggest that CO2 fertilization is the main driver of greening on the global scale\u201d. That fact seems to have escaped the attention of this research team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Thar Desert, a dryland environment with historically marginal vegetation, is precisely the kind of region where CO2 fertilization effects would be most potent. Plants under water-limited conditions often respond more vigorously to elevated CO2 because they can photosynthesize more with less stomatal opening, reducing water loss. Yet somehow, in a paper that examines vegetation dynamics down to the pixel level, CO2\u2019s role is invisible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Graphical abstract<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This omission is not an academic oversight\u2014it is symptomatic of a broader trend in climate-related literature: selective attribution, where natural drivers that contradict apocalyptic narratives are ignored in favor of more ideologically aligned explanations like \u201crenewable energy\u201d and \u201cadaptation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other eyebrow-raising feature of the paper is its repeated, ritualistic invocation of renewable energy<\/strong> as a necessary solution for sustainability\u2014without offering any empirical justification or economic rationale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cSustainable practices\u2014efficient water management, drought-resistant crops, adaptation to rising heat stress, and renewable energy<\/strong>\u2014must guide future development.\u201d\u200b<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Must they? According to what economic model or energy systems analysis? No cost-benefit analysis is provided. No energy return on investment (EROI) data. No grid reliability assessments. No lifecycle impact comparisons. Just a declarative sentence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later, the authors write:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cSemi-arid and arid lands such as the Thar are ideal for capturing solar energy\u2026highlighting the potential role of solar pumping for GW abstraction.\u201d\u200b<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Yes, the sun shines in the desert. But this simplistic correlation completely bypasses the critical challenges: capital intensity, energy storage, intermittency, and the massive material and environmental footprint of solar installations in fragile desert ecosystems. There\u2019s not a single mention of how renewable infrastructure will be maintained in remote, dusty, high-temperature areas notorious for degrading photovoltaic performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rajasthan already sees groundwater depletion at unsustainable rates<\/strong>, much of it driven by energy-intensive tube well pumping. Replacing one energy source with another does nothing to fix the fundamental overuse of water. But it does serve the paper\u2019s narrative function: renewables = good, fossil fuels = bad<\/strong>, evidence be damned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The paper is a model case study in how environmental science papers often smuggle in ideological preferences<\/strong> under the guise of objective reporting. It tells us, for instance, that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cGlobal drylands offer several options for climate mitigation, including carbon sequestration, modifying aerosol-cloud dynamics, preserving biodiversity, and enhancing renewable energy.\u201d\u200b<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Again, there\u2019s no quantification or evaluation of trade-offs. Solar panels will not sequester carbon. They won\u2019t preserve biodiversity\u2014they require clearing land. They do not modify aerosol-cloud dynamics (a pseudoscientific red herring if ever there was one). Yet these phrases roll off the page, reassuring readers that the correct moral lessons have been internalized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Models, Monsoons, and Missing Science<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The greening of the Thar Desert is a fascinating phenomenon. It is a counter-narrative to the prevailing doom-laden stories of desertification and ecological collapse. But this paper\u2019s authors seem unwilling to follow the data where it leads. Instead, they cherry-pick their drivers (rain and pumping), ignore the most obvious one (CO2), and end with a sermon on renewables that\u2019s completely disconnected from the empirical core of the study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What could have been a strong observational study is instead marred by narrative conformity<\/strong>. In the world of environmental science today, saying \u201cCO2 is helping\u201d or \u201crenewables might not be the answer\u201d is apparently more taboo than failing to mention them at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those seeking rigorous, reality-based environmental science, this paper is a cautionary tale\u2014not a roadmap for sustainable development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

H\/T Mumbles McGuirck<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In their lengthy and data-rich paper,\u00a0Mishra et al. (2025)\u00a0examine the notable \u201cgreening\u201d of India\u2019s Thar Desert from 2001 to 2023. They credit this transformation to a combination of increased monsoon rainfall and human-driven groundwater irrigation. Precipitation is said to contribute 45% to this greening, and groundwater pumping 55%\u200b. While this allocation of credit is intriguing, what\u2019s truly shocking is what\u2019s\u00a0not\u00a0mentioned at all:\u00a0CO2 fertilization.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":374996,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691829997,691820981,691829925],"class_list":{"0":"post-374989","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-carbon-dioxide-co","9":"tag-co2-fertilization-2","10":"tag-energy-return-on-investment-eroi","12":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0desertsgreen.png?fit=2953%2C1181&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1zyd","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":264656,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=264656","url_meta":{"origin":374989,"position":0},"title":"Massive Desert Solar Projects Are Sucking Up Groundwater, Angering Locals","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"30\/06\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Massive solar development projects in Southern California have strained local water availability, threatening desert ecosystems and angering residents who have been impacted by the strain on the water supply, according to an Inside Climate News report.","rel":"","context":"In \"Desert Solar Projects\"","block_context":{"text":"Desert Solar Projects","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=desert-solar-projects"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/0AX0005_083-00002.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/0AX0005_083-00002.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/0AX0005_083-00002.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/0AX0005_083-00002.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/0AX0005_083-00002.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":338539,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=338539","url_meta":{"origin":374989,"position":1},"title":"Role of Humans in the Global Water Cycle and Impacts on Climate Change","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"05\/08\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Contemporary climate models only include the impact of water vapor as positive feedback on warming; 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