Sustainability Science

NASA scientists have just released the first new global map of Earth at night since 2012. This nighttime look at our home planet, dubbed the Black Marble, provides researchers with a unique perspective of human activities around the globe. By studying Earth at night, researchers can investigate how cities expand, monitor light intensity to estimate energy use and economic activity, and aid in disaster response.

Harvest is a time of plenty, when the season's hard work is rewarded by bounty. Many of the rhythms of our lives are shaped by the gathering of crops, even if most of us now live in cities.

This photo essay shows people from around the world harvesting their crops and taking them to the market. Pictured above, farmers who were waiting for customers gathered alongside corn-laden trucks at the market in Lahore, Pakistan earlier this month.

Questions to Ponder: What is similar in these images? What is different? How do those similarities and differences shape the geography of a given region?

Tags: Food, agriculture, unit 5 agriculture, worldwide, comparison, images.