India and China are leading the global greening effort, a latest NASA study said, observing that the world is a greener place than it was 20 years ago.

Data from NASA’s satellites show that human activities in China and India play an important part in this greening of the planet, thanks to tree planting and agriculture. The effect comes mostly from tree-planting programs in China and intensive agriculture (集约农业) in both countries. “China and India account for one-third of the greening,” said lead author Chi Chen of Boston University.

China alone accounts for 25 percent of the global net increase in leaf area with only 6.6 percent of global vegetated (有植被的) area. The greening in China is from forests and farmland, but in India, it is mostly from farmland with minor contribution from forests. China’s great contribution to the global greening trend comes in large part from its programs to protect and expand forests.

“When the greening of the earth was first observed, we thought it was due to a warmer, wetter climate and fertilization (施肥) from the added carbon dioxide (CO²) in the atmosphere. Now with the satellite data, we see that humans are also contributing,” said Rama Nemani, a research scientist at NASA’s Ames Research Center. “Once people realize there is a problem, they tend to fix it. In the 1970s and 80s in India and China, the situation about vegetation loss was not good. In the 1990s, people realized it, and today things have improved. That’s what we see in the satellite data,” added Nemani.

The land area used to grow crops is comparable in China and India, and has not changed much since the early 2000s. Yet both countries have greatly increased both their annual total green leaf area and their food production. This was achieved through multiple cropping practices, by which a field is replanted to produce another harvest several times a year. Production of grains, vegetables, fruits and more has increased by about 35% — 40% since 2000 to feed their large populations.

Cities are diverse ecosystems. In addition to visitors from the wild, a large number of species share our urban areas. As our cities spread, we need to think about what it is like for other species to have human neighbors.

Cities are built for humans. 【小题1】 For example, most city parks are kept neat and tidy so that humans will find them beautiful. But when we cut grass or plant flowers, we destroy natural habitats.

【小题2】 When a bridge in Austin, Texas was repaired, engineers added small gaps running along the length of its bottom. This made a good home for bats, and soon the bridge was the home of thousands of bats. At first, people were afraid of the bats and tried to get rid of them. 【小题3】 The bats are a tourist attraction, and they eat lots of bugs every night.

There are also structures built with the aim of bringing wildlife into the city. The Beijing Olympic Forest Park is a good example. The park used native plants and created open, natural spaces for wildlife. The result is a zone in Beijing with over 160 species of birds. In many ways, the park is the opposite of a zoo. 【小题4】

If we learn to share our space, we can become better neighbors to the wildlife around us. 【小题5】 Our own future will be endangered too.

To protect people living in areas that are likely to suffer flooding and rising sea levels, a group of architects has designed a floating home.

The project is a collaboration between British architect firm Grimshaw and Dutch manufacturer Concrete Valley. Currently at the design stage, the home will be constructed using a concrete and glass framework, which sits on a floating pontoon structure. In the event of a tidal surge or flooding, the pontoon rises with the water level to keep the home safe. Fitted with solar panels and heat exchangers, the water home will be able to produce their own electricity during power cuts, in the event of a storm.

Other firms are exploring floating homes, too. In the UK, Baca Architects has partnered with manufacturer Floating Homes. Their design was originally an entry to a competition to reduce London’s housing shortage, and has since been turned into a prototype. Baca Architects is exploring ways to provide practical, affordable, flood-resistant additional city housing, which could occupy unnecessary docks, canals and other waterways throughout London, director Richard Coutts told the Guardian.

As the planet’s atmosphere warms, areas such as the Arctic are melting fast, contributing to rising sea levels and higher risk of flooding. The ocean is already reclaiming land in some parts of the world. With the global population set to reach 9.8 billion people by mid-century, extreme flooding could further add pressure to limited land, water, food and other resources. These challenges are at the heart of the Virtual Ocean Dialogues, an initiative by the World Economic Forum and Friends of Ocean Action. The online event provides a forum for more than 50 world leaders to address the most pressing challenges facing our oceans and develop ways to protect them.

While floating homes may be a common feature in parts of Asia and other developing regions, they are emerging as a way to relieve overcrowding and protect people in busy cities and urban areas which are likely to suffer from flooding.