The Technology Used to Protect and Destroy the Amazon
Paradoxically, the technology Mosse used to sound the alarm about the crisis in the Amazon is used by scientists to study changes to the environment and also by those seeking to exploit it for profit. Multispectral photography involves remote sensing camera technology that captures spectral bandwidths of reflected light invisible to the human eye, such as infrared light. The cameras can be used to collect data from large areas of land. The data is then interpreted using GIS software in order to develop maps that provide information on the environment.
Multispectral photography is used by scientists to track deforestation, ecological damage, areas of concentrated carbon dioxide release, toxic pollution, and other damage. It is also used by the agribusiness and mineralogy sectors—which are responsible for almost all of the Amazon’s deforestation—to gain information about the health of crops, drainage patterns, and the locations of rare Earth minerals.
