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Observing Earth


Latest News from the Alliance for Earth Observations

» A NASA scientist uses the findings of a different set of satellites to confirm melting glaciers and ice caps

» An article based on ocean buoy observations suggests global warming's effects may not actually start for another decade

» NASA states that global warming will increase severe storms and rainfall

» NOAA press release regarding climate change in the last 50 years


Whatever the causes, the global warming crisis is real and the need for continual observations urgent.

In 2007 The Planetary Society took an important new step: We added the Earth to our mission. Our mission statement now reads: "To inspire the people of Earth to explore other worlds, understand our own, and seek life elsewhere."

The question is: how can we help? Join our efforts to see Earth as a planet and compare it with other worlds that have suffered catastrophic climate change. The Planetary Society has joined the Alliance for Earth Observations and the Working Group on Earth Observation and Climate Change, and we published a special issue of The Planetary Report on Planet Earth.

Ours is a vital role, because -- after all -- space technology revolutionized the study of Earth's climate. Our early explorations of Venus and Mars were critical to understanding dust storms and runaway greenhouse effects.

Planetary science has taught us these lessons, but we have much more to learn. We explore other worlds to understand this one. Only by seeing Earth as one planet among many can we truly understand our own pale blue dot of a world.



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