Our Changing Planet, as Seen from Space

California is, for the first time in 25 years, drought free: https://www.drought.gov/states/california#current-conditions

In commentary on the article, a photo gallery of nine images, I didn’t get much out of it. Maybe because it didn’t show much actual change (aside from one side by side 5 years apart, and another one days or weeks apart?).

Pretty pictures, not compelling. But, seeing the shipmap post from yesterday (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46527161) and the inframap today (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46536866) were more so.

> "Humans are altering the planet on an unthinkable scale"

Mesmerizing photos, but hard to draw causal conclusions. Drought in Iraq is pictured directly above flooding in Australia. Maybe this is just the natural cycle of the planet. We don't have data to compare for more than just the last couple generations.