> Nobody is suggesting we’ve magically fixed every environmental issue, but wouldn’t you rather see trends like total number of trees (or number of rivers catching on fire, as you put it) trend in the right direction?
Sure, but if there are 100 relevant indicators that contribute to climate change or other environmental issues, and you're actively selecting the 5 indicators that seems positive and reporting on those regardless of the overall trends, that's not great (I'd argue that would be deliberately dishonest).
But sure, if you're just randomly curious about the trend in tree population and you look it up and it looks positive, then sure, I suppose you could be pleased.
Sure, but if there are 100 relevant indicators that contribute to climate change or other environmental issues, and you're actively selecting the 5 indicators that seems positive and reporting on those regardless of the overall trends, that's not great (I'd argue that would be deliberately dishonest).
But sure, if you're just randomly curious about the trend in tree population and you look it up and it looks positive, then sure, I suppose you could be pleased.