The first satellite in NASA’s Landsat program launched 50 years ago. It’s since shown images of Amazon deforestation, tracked urban heat islands, and helped reveal other ways humans have changed the face of the planet.
We’re losing natural ecosystems like forests and grasslands at an alarming rate. But we often hear less about what’s taking the place of those wild habitats. Much of the substitution has come from corn, soybeans and other agricultural crops.
The Renewable Fuel Standard promised to pay farmers to fight climate change and boost U.S. energy independence. A new five-year study of its impact on land use suggests that it did neither—even while it fueled fertilizer use and water pollution.
A global initiative to protect 30 percent of the earth's land and oceans by 2030 is gaining momentum. But scientists warn that as the world warms, many conservation areas will become less suited to the types of ecosystems they were intended to protect.
