A new look at the human footprint on Mother Earth
April 23, 2012 § 1 Comment
Aerial images of the Mato Grosso state in southwest Brazil taken 14 years apart illustrate the rapid rate of deforestation taking place in the Brazilian Amazon. (Credit: NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS and the U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team. / April 21, 2012)
Today is the day after Earth Day 2012, if you missed it yesterday (and to be fair it was a Sunday, but no excuses really!) here is another reminder why this Earth Day is so important and why everyday should be an Earth Day!
We are not going to bring you pictures of melting ice packs, disappearing glaciers and sad-looking polar bears. That’s so 47 seconds ago, according to the Tribune who kindly first brought these images to our attention. Instead, we bring you a stunning photo gallery documenting the ways in which the world’s explosive population growth has aggressively changed the landscape. The aerial photos above are just one example. They illustrate deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon between 1992 and 2006; the clearing in the Mato Grosso state in southwest Brazil is occurring at a rate of about 22,000 square kilometers per year.
The images are part of a popular photo gallery that has been retooled and enhanced at NASA’s Global Climate Change website.
The gallery, headlined “State of Flux,” features images mostly taken from space. To be sure, there are the expected shots of glacier retreat and climate change. But the more arresting images underscore the ways in which Earth’s surface is being cleared out and carved up to accommodate a population of 7 billion people. We reached that milestone in October, and we’re on track to hit 8 billion by 2025.
Among the examples of change: deforestation in Bolivia, urban growth in Saudi Arabia, and the creeping sprawl of Las Vegas. Check it out, share it and become a part of the bloomtrigger project; a simple, affordable and creative way to help tackle global deforestation and climate change.
Signup and buy ‘blooms’ here www.bloomtrigger.com
Reblogged this on msamba.