There's a new way of helping the world's poorest people, and it doesn't involve sending in satellites.
Instead, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is putting its money where its mouth is, according to a report published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications.
The foundation is investing $50 million in a new way of looking at climate change, poverty, and inequality: through the use of satellite data.
"By using satellite data to monitor the impact of investments in various sectors, including agriculture, energy, and infrastructure," the report explains, " investors can monitor the impact of their investments in real-time."
The Gateses are putting their money where their mouth is: They're investing in a project called Terra-i, which uses satellite imagery to monitor deforestation in the Amazon rainforest.
"By tracking changes in land use over time, Terra-i has been able to identify areas where deforestation is occurring and work with local communities to develop sustainable land use practices," the report states.
Terra-i is also working with communities in Brazil to develop sustainable land use practices.
The report notes that using satellite data to fund such projects can be a challenge, as it requires specialized expertise to analyze and interpret the data, and it can be hard for smaller investors and organizations Read the Entire Article
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