CURATED BY KRISTIN KOWNACKY
A booming population coupled with greedy resource consumption and continual expansion of industry has taken a drastic toll on the environment over the last 30 years. Now, satellite imagery taken by Google Earth Engine allows you to actually see the change, not just hear about it. These images document the drastic transformations that have taken place on Earth over the last 4o years.
FROM FAST COMPANY
The booming economies of Gulf oil states. The rise in the global demand for meat. The continued migration of Americans to sprawling metropoles of the South and West. These major social and political trends of the past two decades aren’t just stats and figures–they’re stories inscribed into fast-changing landscapes, just as visible on satellite imagery as they are on the news.
Using satellite data from Landsat–the United States Geological Survey’s satellite imagery program that’s photographed Earth since the 1970s–Google constructed timelapses of some of the most rapid changes to the built environment that have occurred throughout the past couple decades…Continue Reading
Kristin Kownacky is a junior at Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida, where she is currently working towards a BA in journalism and international studies. It is her dream to travel the world, discovering hidden treasures and writing about each experience. Read her articles on her personal blog, Depart We Now.
Photo by AZRainman