D Watson-Parris and NASA Worldview
As the COVID pandemic continues to sequester many of us to our homes,
our everyday behaviors have come mostly to a collective halt. The
immediate effects are obvious, as cities, roads, and public spaces have
emptied. Reports of nature intermingling with spaces once claimed by
humans have amazed audiences worldwide. Coyotes casually strolling by
the Golden Gate
Bridge
and through the streets of San Francisco, the canals of Venice running
clear
and teeming with fish, and the [Himalayas visible from
India(https://www.insider.com/himalayas-seen-from-india-pollution-drop-coronavirus-lockdown-2020-4)
for the first time in three decades are just a few of the examples made
famous by popular culture.
At the same time, with tragic wildfires ravaging the Pacific Coast and
an already record-setting 2020 Atlantic hurricane season underway, many
are feeling a weighty pull towards action for the environment.
These are just a few examples which have made manifest the challenging
and complex problem scientists have been working to understand for
years: climate change. Now more than ever, technology is positioned to
help scientists understand and untangle the complicated web of cause and
effect unfolding across the planet.