Expanding demand from a growing world population — now numbered at over 7 billion — exerts unprecedented pressure on global resources, especially forests, water, and agriculture. Observing our world by remote sensing satellites enables scientists around the world to detect the most critical trends in natural resource conditions at local to global scales. Since 1972, the Landsat Earth observation satellites have monitored changes at the Earth’s land surface, including changes in forests, water bodies and agricultural and urban areas.

Using the nearly 40 year global Landsat record in combination with other Earth observation systems and the latest scientific techniques in Earth imaging, experts in mapping and monitoring our planet will describe present conditions and outline the future of many of Earth’s natural resources.
Alan Belward, European Commission Joint Research Centre
Matthew Hansen, University of Maryland, College Park
James Irons, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Curtis Woodcock, Boston University
Thomas Loveland, U.S. Geological Survey, moderator
Local reporters can attend the press event at the Pecora Remote Sensing Symposium, Hilton Washington Dulles Hotel, Herndon, Va., in the Potomac Ballroom, on Wednesday, Nov. 16 at 12 p.m. EST. Reporters can follow this event at: www.nasa.gov/landsat. Video of the press briefing will be streamed live at:
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasa-gsfc