Listen To Me. Listen To Me. Listen To Me. Listen To Me.

Satellite Data in Ag-tion: From Space to Your Plate

As Earth’s climate changes, some places are drying out and others are getting wetter, including the land that produces the food we eat. Farmers have to figure out how to adapt to changing climate conditions.

Our fleet of satellites has been watching over Earth for more than half a century. Some, like our joint Landsat mission with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), collect valuable data about the crops that make up our food supply and the water it takes to grow them.

Combining this wealth of satellite data with observations on the ground allows us to track how crop production changes over the years.

For example, this map shows how croplands have changed over the years to feed a growing population. The Agriculture Department (USDA) has used Landsat data since 2008 to track crops growing in the continental United States.

Agricultural scientists can even focus in on data for individual crops like corn, wheat and soybeans. They can look closely at regional crops, like citrus, that grow in only a few areas.

This nationwide view — provided by Landsat satellites orbiting 438 miles above Earth — is important to track the nation’s food supply. But with data from other satellites, like our ECOSTRESS instrument and ESA’s (the European Space Agency) Sentinel-2, agricultural scientists can monitor how healthy crops are in real time and predict when they’ll be ready to harvest.

In this false-color image of California farmland, red areas peak early in the season, whereas blue areas peak late. This information helps farmers watch over the plants in their fields, predict when they’ll be ready to harvest, and maximize crop production.

But while growing more and more crops sounds good, there can be challenges, like water. Especially when there’s not enough of it.

During California’s recent drought, just over 1 million acres of fertile farmland (shown in green) were fallow, or unused (red) in 2015. That’s nearly double the number of unused fields in 2011, the last year with normal rainfall before the drought.

Irrigating acres and acres of farmland takes lots of water. With remote sensing, scientists can track how irrigation fluctuates with climate change, new water management policies, or new technologies. Research like this helps farmers grow the most crops with the least amount of water.

As our climate changes, it’s more important than ever for farmers to have the knowledge they need to grow crops in a warming world. The data collected by our Earth-observing satellites help farmers learn about the planet that sustains us — and make better decisions about how to cultivate it.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

Why Did God Create Atheists?

There is a famous story told in Chassidic literature that addresses this very question. The Master teaches the student that God created everything in the world to be appreciated, since everything is here to teach us a lesson. 

One clever student asks “What lesson can we learn from atheists? Why did God create them?”

The Master responds “God created atheists to teach us the most important lesson of them all — the lesson of true compassion. You see, when an atheist performs and act of charity, visits someone who is sick, helps someone in need, and cares for the world, he is not doing so because of some religious teaching. He does not believe that god commanded him to perform this act. In fact, he does not believe in God at all, so his acts are based on an inner sense of morality. And look at the kindness he can bestow upon others simply because he feels it to be right.”

“This means,” the Master continued “that when someone reaches out to you for help, you should never say ‘I pray that God will help you.’ Instead for the moment, you should become an atheist, imagine that there is no God who can help, and say ‘I will help you.’”

ETA source: Tales of Hasidim Vol. 2 by Mar

Yeah so THIS

Belongs in the post. Because “Praying to die useful so she achieved something” hurts so much and is maybe the best characterization of Sister Carpenter I’ve ever read.

the nights sister carpenter refers to as "the worst nights of her life" are related to the horrible things she did to other people, rather than the horrible things other people did to her

"Do you ever dream of land?" The whale asks the tuna.

"No." Says the tuna, "Do you?"

"I have never seen it." Says the whale, "but deep in my body, I remember it."

"Why do you care," says the tuna, "if you will never see it."

"There are bones in my body built to walk through the forests and the mountains." Says the whale.

"They will disappear." Says the tuna, "one day, your body will forget the forests and the mountains."

"Maybe I don't want to forget," Says the whale, "The forests were once my home."

"I have seen the forests." Whispers the salmon, almost to itself.

"Tell me what you have seen," says the whale.

"The forests spawned me." Says the salmon. "They sent me to the ocean to grow. When I am fat with the bounty of the ocean, I will bring it home."

"Why would the forests seek the bounty of the oceans?" Asks the whale. "They have bounty of their own."

"You forget," says the salmon, "That the oceans were once their home."

fun thing about herding and/or generally neurotic breeds: they are really good at following rules you have instituted, but they will also make their own Dog Rules they will follow stringently whether or not you like it

a NEED

Short cottagecore asks!

🏡: are you a forest, ocean, farm or mountain cottage dweller? (Or other)

🍁: what’s your favorite season?

🥐: what was the best food you have ever made yourself?

🍓: do you garden? If so, what’s the most impressive thing you’ve grown?

🌼: favorite wildflower and/or herb?

💐: what is your idea of a perfect date?

🍪: what is your favorite spice to cook/bake with?

🌱: where do you feel the coziest?

🌲: if you could make your life more cottage-y by doing one thing, what would you do?

🍄: do you forage?

☁️: what weather inspires you the most? What does it inspire you to do?

🐝: what do you find yourself daydreaming about?

🌻: what is the nicest thing you have ever done for yourself?

🧺: if you were to pack a picnic basket, what would you include in it?

🍵: yummiest warm drink for cold cottage nights?

🐌: do you have any cores outside cottagecore?

To follow up, here are some that I started and never finished.

This is not to say that I wouldn’t give them another shot, but they just didn’t pull me in yknow

- I am in Eskew

- the Penumbra Podcast

- woe.begone

- archive 81

- Unwell

- Mabel

- antiquarium of sinister happenings

- Redwood Bureau (I did LOVE the first couple of episodes)

-stellar firma

- Death by Dying (Loved it at the start, lost steam for it and will revisit)

-Nowhere, on Air

- the storage papers

- Camp Here and There

- Malevolent

Some fiction podcasts I have listened to and enjoyed:

- The Magnus Archives (they really started it all for me)

- The Silt Verses(the loves of my life, I could ramble all day about my undying love for this pod)

- Wolf 359 (platonic love to the max my dudes)

- Midnight Burger

- The White Vault (🦷)

- Hello from the Hallowoods

- Secret of St. Kilda (Maebh de Brun the woman you are)

- VAST Horizon

- Fathom/Derelict

- The Unpredicted Party

- Trice forgotten

- the No Sleep Podcast

- Old Gods of Appalachia

- Tower 4

- Darkest Night (I’ve never been so simultaneously horrified and also unable to stop listening)

- Borrasca (a classic No Sleep Reddit post with Cole Sprouse as the mc?!?)

- Red Valley

- Bridgewater

Media so good, they (the forces of evil) are hiding the fanbase from you. Media so good, you thought you dreamed that shit up and it don't really exist. I'M KNOCKING ON THE DOOR (CLICKING THE TAGS) FOR FAN CONTENT AND THERE'S NADA. Come outside y'all, I wanna talk like a normal person. (I'm going to rock back and forth frantically to convey my feelings about these podcasts)