Proceedings of the Symposium on Global and Environmental Monitoring: Proceedings of the Symposium on Global and Environmental Monitoring

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Multivolume work

Persistent identifier:: 856665355

Title:: Proceedings of the Symposium on Global and Environmental Monitoring

Sub title:: techniques and impacts ; September 17 - 21, 1990, Victoria Conference Centre, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Year of publication:: 1990

Place of publication:: Victoria, BC

Publisher of the original:: [Verlag nicht ermittelbar]

Identifier (digital):: 856665355

Language:: English

Document type:: Multivolume work

Volume

Persistent identifier:: 856669164

Title:: Proceedings of the Symposium on Global and Environmental Monitoring

Sub title:: techniques and impacts; September 17 - 21, 1990, Victoria Conference Centre, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Scope:: XIV, 912 Seiten

Year of publication:: 1990

Place of publication:: Victoria, BC

Publisher of the original:: [Verlag nicht ermittelbar]

Identifier (digital):: 856669164

Illustration:: Illustrationen, Diagramme, Karten

Signature of the source:: ZS 312(28,7,1)

Language:: English

Usage licence:: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Editor:: International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Commission of Photographic and Remote Sensing Data

Publisher of the digital copy:: Technische Informationsbibliothek Hannover

Place of publication of the digital copy:: Hannover

Year of publication of the original:: 2016

Document type:: Volume

Collection:: Earth sciences

Chapter

Title:: [TA-1 OPENING PLENARY SESSION]

Document type:: Multivolume work

Structure type:: Chapter

Chapter

Title:: GLOBAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING: TECHNOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS. by John S. MacDonald, MacDonald Dettwiler, Richmond, B.C., Canada

Document type:: Multivolume work

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1 GLOBAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING: TECHNOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS* by John S. MacDonald MacDonald Dettwiler Richmond, B.C., Canada ABSTRACT Achieving the goal of sustainable economic development requires that we manage our development of the earth's resources and our related impact on its environment in a way which provides economic growth while at the same time preserving the ecological equilibrium which sustains us. This management process requires the timely availability of reliable and accurate information about the state of the planet's ecosystems and the effect that human activities have on them. Beginning with this premise, this paper introduces the concept of an Information Delivery System centered on remote sensing of the earth from space, and examines some of the critical technological concepts that are fundamental to the successful creation of such a system, and therefore to the ultimate attainment of a process of sustainable development. INTRODUCTION The recent explosion in knowledge about our home planet has taught us that the global environment which sustains us is in a somewhat fragile equilibrium. We have come to realize that if we do not pay attention to the effect of human activity on the state of the environment, we could perturb it in ways which are irreversible and ultimately toxic to the survival of our species and many others which currently inhabit the earth. The prospect of global warming and the apparent depletion of the ozone layer as consequences of human activity are but two of the more well- known early manifestations of our ability to upset nature's equilibrium. It is generally accepted that human activity began to have significant effects on the environment at the time of the industrial revolution. If one examines the period since then, while there is evidence of some effect on environmental equilibrium due to human activity primarily in the industrial countries, there is no doubt that the quality of life for the average person in those countries has increased markedly during this period . These improvements have their roots in the very increase in economic activity which lies at the root of the negative effects we are having on the environment. While it appears that our long-term survival as a species will depend on our ability to act in ways which preserve the ecosystem of planet earth in its current state of natural equilibrium, none of us, whether we live in the industrialized countries or the so-called developing world is anxious to accept significant curtailment of continuous improvement in our quality of life through what is commonly referred to as "economic development". The challenge then becomes one of achieving economic growth while at the same time sustaining the ability of our planet to continue to support our own and other species for the indefinite future. This is an exciting challenge for all of us. In the words of the World Commission on Environment and Development: "Humanity has the ability to make development sustainable -- to ensure that it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The concept of sustainable development * Keynote paper presented at the ISPRS Mid-term Symposium on Global and Environmental Monitoring: Techniques and Impacts, Victoria, B.C. Canada, September 18,1990.

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