Countries across the world need to work together to tackle environmental issues such as climate change, said NASA Chief Bill Nelson. While there are solutions to ease greenhouse gas emissions, they require incredible changes at a new pace and scale.
“This is something that nations can work on together because the information is there,” said Nelson. “It’s important that we act on it.”
Satellites are constantly collecting data about climate, Nelson said. Increasingly, they can detect the specific locations of emissions, include methane leaks, that may not otherwise be discovered. The space agency wants to make the data accessible to the public and teach them how to use it.
“The types of concerns that we have are global,” said NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy. “It’s very important to recognize that not any one country can solve that problem alone.”