Without sounding like a hippie, our planet really is fragile in the grand scheme of things. For evidence, just take a look at these satellite images that point out how fast everything is changing. Not all of this is our fault of course. Nature has run its course and caused some things to happen almost naturally (like the drying up of a huge lake in Africa).
But we do contribute to some things. Take a gander at the image above for an example. That was a “before and after” photo representing an area near the Rio Grande. In 1975, it was a dense rain forrest. The picture next to it was taken in 2003 and represents the equivalent of a booming agricultural “metropolis.” At least it’s going toward farming, and not city pollution.
Check out the other not-so-subtle changes for a bigger picture (pun intended).
[Photograph: UNEP]
[Photograph: Handout/EPA/Corbis]