A 1972 to 2004 Satellite time lapse recording of the expansion of Las Vegas

I happened across this article this morning during my regular morning surf. I thought it was interesting to the point I would share it with ATS. It kind of shocks you a bit, but at the same time I have personally witnessed the same kind of thing where I have lived all my life. So it is not unusual but it is interesting to see the end result.

In the 1970s, some forward-thinking NASA scientists put an Earth-observing satellite into orbit. At an altitude of 570 miles, it photographed the entire planet every 18 days, circling Earth 14 times a day and sending the data back to ground stations. Forty years later, this satellite and its successors have created the longest continuous record of our planet's surface. By stringing the images together, NASA and the US Geological Survey have shown how rapidly and how profoundly humans are changing the face of Earth.

www.vox.com...

I am not on any side of the global warming thing to be sure I just thought some folks would enjoy the video and discussion.

Regards, Iwinder

a reply to: Iwinder





Embedded the video for you. That was an interesting watch. Especially the unfortunate deforestation.

a reply to: EternalSolace

Thank you for that and yep that deforestation thing really caught my attention as I am sure it did yours as well.
Regards, Iwinder

This video reminds me of a Nine Inch Nails song I was just listening to.

"She gave us all she had but we went and took some more
Can't seem to shut her legs, our Mother Nature is a whore"

British Columbia looks lush right? Zoom in anywhere and find one region that is not looking forward to deforestation. There are logging roads sprawling this province are like veins. Linearly, I am pretty sure logging roads out stretch public roads by at least 10 fold.

a reply to: Iwinder

I really wish people would leave the trees alone. I wonder how much longer it will take before humanity moves on to hemp.

a reply to: EternalSolace

Hopefully soon so I can start my business, textiles, and use some lol.

Why can't we solely turn to reusable fuels and materials?

Oh wait, they are using a reusable material, trees. They just aren't replanting them for some damn reason

originally posted by: Ghost147
Why can't we solely turn to reusable fuels and materials?

Oh wait, they are using a reusable material, trees. They just aren't replanting them for some damn reason

I believe in Canada they do indeed replant with seedlings, but the problem is they are hacking down trees that are 100 years old and then replacing them with 6 inch seedlings. What the heck happens between now and the year 2115?

I would guess nothing good, thanks for your observant post.
Regards, Iwinder

Like many others the deforestation really caught my eye. I knew it was a problem, and I've seen pictures and videos of what's going on in that region, but to see the birds eye view on such a grand scale is actually pretty depressing.

I'd love to know why they aren't replanting, we're causing far too much destruction and sooner or later mother earth is going to get tired of us and shake us off like fleas in favor of something that's able to live more harmoniously with what's provided.

Wow very cool! Love Vegas

I don't know why people are complaining about "deforestation" when every time they clear cut an area, they replace trees around at least 2:1 ratio.

Forestry has come a very long way since the days of clear cutting old growth. If deforestation is such a big deal, then why doesn't everybody grow a tree or 2 from seed and plant it? Oh.. we rather complain about it than do it.


ETA - Older trees don't process Co2 as efficient as younger trees. so the more younger trees the better. Forestry is also done by selective cutting of certain tree species, so clear cutting isn't really a reality unless its in a country where its unregulated.

a reply to: eXia7

Thanks for that info, I was not aware of that. It's a very encouraging thing to learn. I'm by no means an expert on any of this and haven't looked deeply at all, so my opinion was truly that of a layperson simply seeing things cut down and the immediate effects. I live in an area where mountaintop removal, strip-mining, etc...are very much a reality so when I see that type of clearing going on, I'm accustomed to that land being unusable by anything living for a long long time.

originally posted by: MythMaster
a reply to: eXia7

Thanks for that info, I was not aware of that. It's a very encouraging thing to learn. I'm by no means an expert on any of this and haven't looked deeply at all, so my opinion was truly that of a layperson simply seeing things cut down and the immediate effects. I live in an area where mountaintop removal, strip-mining, etc...are very much a reality so when I see that type of clearing going on, I'm accustomed to that land being unusable by anything living for a long long time.

Also certain species of trees regrow from the original stump, sometimes producing 2-4 new tree sprouts per stump. They also use thinning operations to thin out forests to allow younger trees to get extra sunlight and nutrients by removing old damaged or diseased trees.

Make no mistake, early on they were clear cutting at an alarming rate without replenishing what they had taken, but now and in the future trees will be here, and in some cases doing better than before. Earth is amazing, and it will find a way to carry on.

Most of the growth of Las Vegas is not based on gambling but is companies that have left calif due to tax laws and state regulations.

The inventory taxes in calif drove many companies to Nevada.
For internet companies Las Vegas is the perfect ship from point for southern calif and reno covers northern calif.

For many products that come into calif its cheaper to ship to nevada and store the products there till sold in calif.
Amazon.com has a major warehouse there covering calif.

originally posted by: ANNED
Most of the growth of Las Vegas is not based on gambling but is companies that have left calif due to tax laws and state regulations.

The inventory taxes in calif drove many companies to Nevada.
For internet companies Las Vegas is the perfect ship from point for southern calif and reno covers northern calif.

For many products that come into calif its cheaper to ship to nevada and store the products there till sold in calif.
Amazon.com has a major warehouse there covering calif.

Thanks for that information, I have been reading a lot of articles on all the regulations slapped on companies and the high taxes there.

Regards, Iwinder