Jim Baird: “Mr. Speaker, I rise on this occasion, again I mention it is on Earth Day, to seek support for House Resolution 891, as…”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise on this occasion, again I mention it is on Earth Day, to seek support for House Resolution 891, as amended, celebrating 35 years of space-based observation of the Earth by the Landsat spacecraft. This resolution celebrates the world's longest unbroken record of civil Earth observations of the land beginning with the launch of the first Landsat satellite on July 23, 1972. The data collected from Landsat satellites have helped advance our scientific understanding of global change and fostered applications that benefit our private sector, as well as our State, local, regional and Federal Government activities. Mr. Speaker, the scientific and applied uses of these space-based land observations are vast. Landsat data are used to monitor crop patterns, manage natural resources such as water and forests, assist in land use and urban growth planning, help protect wildlife habitats and support national security objectives, to name just a few examples. Landsat's 35 year data record has also been critical in helping to understand the interactions between land cover changes and variations in the Earth's climate.”