“There’s a new technology to track and protect forest areas of the world,” Orak informed his friends on a bright Tuesday morning.
“Really? I want to know all about it!” Felix exclaimed.
“The United Nations (UN) runs an organization called the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO). FAO has its own website called Framework for Ecosystem Monitoring (Ferm). Ferm uses satellite images to tell people about the changes to forests around the world,” Orak said.
“But how does Ferm get all this information?” said Verum.
“Ferm gets its information from NASA, the United States space agency. NASA stands for National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA runs a program called the Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation system. It is also known as Gedi. Its objective is to scan the world’s forests,” Orak said.
“Gedi like the Jedi from the movies Star Wars?” said Scorch.
“Yes, Gedi is pronounced as the word Jedi. Its tagline is also inspired by Star War films. In the films, the characters say ‘may the force be with you’. Gedi’s tagline is ‘may the forest be with you’,” said Orak. Scorch laughed. She was a big fan of Stars Wars.
“How does Gedi work?” Felix wanted to know.
“Gedi scans the world’s forests with the help of lasers. Thus, the team can find out the height and canopy of trees in the forests. The team can also find out if cutting down trees has led to higher carbon emissions,” Orak said.
“Carbon emissions is the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses released into the atmosphere. They lead to climate change,” Felix explained.
“Currently, Ferm is being used in Asian countries such as Vietnam and Laos. Whenever there’s new deforestation in the area, rangers and community workers on the ground receive alerts on their mobile phones. They can then stop the deforestation,” Orak added.
“An excellent use of technology, to save the environment!” Felix said.