By Vijay Jayaraj
The silence of looking out the kitchen window onto a snow-covered meadow on a December morning is magical. A deer stops at the edge of the forest, its breath steaming in the cold air, grazing on any bits of green that poke through the snow. It’s a scene recreated on greeting cards and stamped on cookie jars.
Part of the magic behind this image — from the roast in the oven to the cranberries on a plate, from the towering pines and hardwoods outside to the grazing fauna — is a phenomenon that mainstream media ignores: CO₂-fueled, NASA-approved greening of the Earth.
Satellite data from the last four decades confirm a significant increase in vegetation across half the planet. During this period, CO₂ levels in the atmosphere rose from about 350 parts per million (ppm) to over 400 ppm, largely from the burning of fossil fuels.
It is a gift that is right on point to meet continued population growth and demand for food. This staple nourishment enables all other human endeavors—developments in artificial intelligence, medicine, and more. It’s difficult to write computer code on an empty stomach.
Behind this gift of abundance is a process that is fundamental to all life, starting with plants: photosynthesis is a mechanism by which plants use CO₂, water and sunlight to produce sugars for food. When atmospheric CO₂ increases—whether from emissions from human activities or from another source—plants grow faster. A side effect is that they use water more efficiently, making them more resilient to dry conditions and expanding their geographic range.
The extent to which plants respond to more CO₂ varies, but always positively. Increasing CO₂ levels to around 800 parts per million (ppm) – more than twice the current atmospheric concentration – increases yields by 10 to 100%.
In greenhouse cultivation, carbon dioxide levels are increased to around 1,000 ppm to increase tomato and cucumber yields by 20 to 40%. Plants such as corn, sugar cane and millet also benefit from a higher CO₂ content in the atmosphere, the positive effect of which becomes even more evident in dry conditions.
For many, a cold Christmas morning is warmed up by coffee, especially festive offerings like peppermint mocha and gingerbread latte. Well, the good news is that even coffee plants are benefiting from the increase in CO₂. Studies in Latin America found that increased carbon dioxide levels boosted photosynthesis in coffee plants and increased yields by 12 to 14%.
People forget that the Little Ice Age, which lasted from about 1300 to 1850, brought crop failures and famine across much of Europe and Asia. Rivers froze and growing seasons shortened. Many communities struggled during times of cold-related shortages.
The 20th century brought the opposite: longer growing seasons in a slightly warmer climate coupled with higher CO₂ levels. This is hardly the making of a catastrophe as some would have us believe. In fact, a 2025 analysis predicted that changes in global average yields across all crops will be neutral or positive up to 5 degrees Celsius of warming in the future.
Only the Climate Grinches would oppose such lush greening through modern heat and CO₂ concentrations. These are the characters who have dominated headlines in the popular media and on political debates in Brussels and Washington. By spreading false fears, they steal not only the joy of experiencing this natural wealth, but also the wealth and sovereignty of nations.
Climate Grinches look at a greener planet and see catastrophe. When NASA announces that Earth has grown vegetation the size of two American continents, it warns that this cannot last, that the benefits are only temporary, and that demise is yet to come. As farmers report bumper harvests made possible by longer growing seasons and CO₂ fertilization, the Climate Grinches insist that the gains will be outweighed by unspecified future horrors.
So as you gather with your family this holiday season, look at the bread in front of you with new eyes. Reject the guilt that climate orthodoxy wants to place on us. Modern lifestyles are not destroying the planet. We enjoy a vibrant ecosystem that offers more greenery, more people and more human potential than ever before in history.
This comment was first published on December 8, 2025 by American Greatness.
Vijay Jayaraj is a science and research associate at the CO2 Coalition, Fairfax, Virginia. He holds a master’s degree in environmental science from the University of East Anglia and a postgraduate degree in energy management from Robert Gordon University, both in the United Kingdom, and a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Anna University, India.
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