Using the GFW API
grabbing Landsat 8 imagery
There was a time when satellite imagery was stored on magnetic tape. That time is no longer. Google Earth Engine has created a simple API to access open imagery, including imagery from Landsat and the MODIS sensor. We use the GEE API to check alerts of forest clearing activity. The alerts could be user-submitted stories from the ground or . . .
Using the GFW API
grabbing forest cover loss information for user supplied polygons
Update. We recently added the ability to query multipolygons from within the GFW API. The procedure detailed in this post still works, but a much simpler procedure is described in an update.
Suppose a multinational company is trying to rid their supply chain of materials sourced from primary forest. Consider, for example, . . .
Hacking the environment
Presidential style
Yesterday we announced EcoHack World, the continuation of our three-year mission to bring scientists, journalists, digital storytellers, software engineers, designers, and other hackers into the same room to tackle environmental issues that matter. This announcement shamelessly follows the Obama administration's launch of the . . .
FORMA: A Near-Real Time Alert System for Tropical Forest Loss
Crossposted from WRI.org
If you were the administrator of a protected forest, you would ideally have a staff of rangers on patrol, backed up by law enforcement and high-resolution satellite images to keep you up-to-date on the forest’s condition. In this ideal world, illegal activity would quickly be halted.
Yet the reality is that many protected areas lack . . .