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Brendan Jarrell: Mentor for SkyTruth Interns and So Much More

July 16, 2020 in , , /by

Being a SkyTruth intern was intimidating at first, but Brendan found support and outstanding opportunities to grow at SkyTruth. Now he helps others find their way.

Brendan Jarrell sounds a bit like a proud papa when he talks about SkyTruth interns. Brendan coordinates SkyTruth’s intern program, but once upon a time he was an intern himself. If you’re thinking about a SkyTruth internship, read Brendan’s story about how he gained confidence and is now a SkyTruth staff member.

Protecting Biodiversity and Indigenous Lands from Space

July 2, 2020 in , , , /by

Illegal mining is devastating parts of the Amazon rainforest. SkyTruth is figuring out how to detect new mining threats and alert conservationists on the ground.

The Amazon rainforest is one of the most biologically diverse places on Earth; a breathtaking riot of life that evolved over eons, encompassing the Amazon River and its vast system of tributaries. Illegal mining in Peru and Brazil is a growing problem, destroying forests and polluting water. SkyTruth is developing a tool to detect illegal mining in the Amazon using radar satellite imagery.

SkyTruth Board Member Mary Anne Hitt: Activist Extraordinaire

June 3, 2020 in , , , , , /by

Mary Anne Hitt has led Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign to extraordinary national success. But she honed her skills in Appalachia, with a little help from SkyTruth.

You might say Mary Anne Hitt has Appalachian activism in her blood. When she was growing up in Gatlinburg, Tennessee her father was Chief Scientist at Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Back then, acid rain was decimating high elevation forests in the East, fueled by pollution from coal-fired power plants. Her father watched as iconic places in the park turned into forests of skeleton trees. Today, Mary Anne is National Director of Campaigns for the Sierra Club; and she also serves on SkyTruth’s board of directors.

Ten years ago SkyTruth Revealed the Truth about the BP Oil Spill

April 27, 2020 in , , , /by

SkyTruth video highlights our work fighting oil pollution, then and now.

Ten years ago last week, BP’s Deepwater Horizon platform in the Gulf of Mexico exploded, killing 11 men and setting off the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history. SkyTruth was there; not in person but remotely; using satellite imagery to track the spill from space. Watch our four-minute video to learn more about the disaster, and what SkyTruth is doing now to stop oil pollution at sea.

SkyTruth 2020: What to Expect in the New Year

January 21, 2020 in , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , /by

Oil pollution at sea, mountaintop mining, Conservation Vision and more on SkyTruth’s agenda.

SkyTruth followers know that we generated a lot of momentum in 2019, laying the groundwork for major impact in 2020. Here’s a quick list of some of our most important projects underway for the new year: stopping oil pollution at sea, protecting wildlife, identifying poorly reclaimed mine sites, characterizing harmful algal blooms from space, and revealing fossil fuel drilling on public lands.