REVIEW of the SOUTH & CENTRAL PACIFIC REGIONAL TOURISM Form

My lord, the very last one of these. As usual, it’s part review, part recap. Spoilers abound obviously:We have a title: “The Iron Throne.” I thought they’d’ve gone with “A Song of Ice and Fire.”We pick up right where we left off. The look on Tyrion’s face is absolutely devastating. I’ve ragged a lot on Dinklage for coasting the past few seasons, but this episode is an Emmy winner.The first person on the ground that Tyrion sees, unless I’m mistaken, is the charred corpse of a child. He, Jon and Davos also come across the little girl with the horse whom Arya encountered last week.Grey Worm and the Unsullied are executing Lannister soldiers who have surrendered. Jon at least tries to stop them. Jon moves on, rather than get the northmen and the Unsullied into a tussle.This is a slow scene but it’s so gut-wrenching, when Tyrion moves through the ruin of the Red Keep and finds Jaime and Cersei dead. His grief feels so raw and real and the crazy thing is that, despite everything, I 100% think he’s mourning Cersei along with Jaime and their unborn child. His grief is for the whole family.Arya looks absolutely pissed. You wouldn’t know it from this but she … doesn’t kill anyone. For once.This whole scene is chilling. Jon’s walking through the Unsullied ranks and the Dothraki are all crowded behind. It’s dead quiet other than the dragon roaring and the Dothraki screaming. The Targaryen banner is up. It looks downright Nazi-ish.Jon, idiot that he is, keeps going.Framing Dany between the dragon’s wings is, while heavy-handed, an inspired visual cue and a subversion of the “angel” form.I’m just gonna say it. This is some Hitler shit. It’s also notable that the things Dany says here are in two foreign languages — Dothraki and High Valyrian. She’s not here for Westeros. She’s not speaking to the Westerosi despite saying she’s their queen and claiming that she’s “liberated” them.I love this part, when Dany reminds the Dothraki what she asked them to do back in season 6. Why? Because you should have known this was coming. These reminders, these callbacks, all of them are meant to tell you, “Hey idiot, we said this would happen.”I’m going to say something that might get me in trouble: I don’t think Dany actually cares about slavery. Maybe she did once. But this, when she’s talking about “liberating” the world — she’s not talking about slavery. She wants to replicate that feeling of victory and adoration, that high, she felt in Slaver’s Bay when she had a higher purpose and the devotion of people. Slavery just happens to be the vehicle.Dany namedrops Winterfell and Jon’s face looks like he might be having second thoughts.Qarth, another city Dany threatened to burn, gets name-dropped. Neat!Dany isn’t breaking the wheel. She is the wheel.Arya’s not having it.The first thing Dany says in English is admonishing Tyrion for releasing Jaime after Tyrion resigns his Handship. Doesn’t matter, I guess, that Jaime and Cersei are both dead.Arya gets the drop on Jon. Arya tells Jon what should be obvious: that Dany’s a killer, that their family’s in danger. Jon’s a fucking idiot. Still. Arya tries to get it through Jon’s idiot skull that Dany will never let Jon go or forget he’s the real heir to the throne.Jon goes to see Tyrion. This is a great scene for Tyrion, and a horrible one for Jon. This, in my opinion, cements the fact that Jon is 100% unworthy of ever being king. Maybe that’s the point?Tyrion regrets betraying Varys and admits Varys was right. We’re reminded again of all the shit Tyrion’s done.Tyrion says he was right to betray Dany.Jon is shit. He’s shit. He just saw a mass murder go down and thinks the war’s over and hey that’s good, right? Tyrion tells Jon he’s an idiot.Jon tries to play the “not her father” card, and Tyrion reminds Jon that Dany’s killed more people than Tywin and Cersei ever did. Jon, fuck him, keeps trying to rationalize what happened. Jon’s been a complete idiot this entire season, but this takes the cake.Tyrion asks Jon what Sam asked him earlier. “Would you have done it?” Obviously Jon would not have.It is long, long, long past believable that Jon would feel anything for Dany but contempt and revulsion. I’d find it much more believable if Jon hated her guts and faked it for a better purpose. But this apparently genuine moral quandary he’s in … why? That’s what Jon and Dany comes down to: Dany does something so beyond awful as to be unbearable, and Jon needs Tyrion to tell him it’s wrong. My God.This is my favorite set of lines in the entire episode. Why? Tyrion says out loud, in story, what I’ve been saying for YEARS. It’s all well and good while it’s slavers and rapists and mean Dothraki. No one cares if Dany mows them down. But her sense of her own righteousness means that she’ll continue mowing down anyone, regardless of how good or bad they are. “Evil men die, and we cheer her for it.”“Sometimes duty is the death of love.” Hmm. Tyrion tells Jon to kill Dany. Even Tyrion telling Jon he’s a marked man won’t persuade him — it takes Tyrion saying that Dany will come after Sansa and Arya. “That’s her decision, she is the queen” is ten times dumber than the dumbest thing Ned Stark ever said.Drogon guarding the Red Keep entrance covered in snow/ash is a nice touch. There’s a split second where it looks like Drogon and Jon might have a standoff, with a lovely distance shot, but it ends quickly and Jon is allowed to pass.The throne room is even more destroyed than it was in Dany’s House of the Undying vision.Unlike in the House of Undying, Dany actually touches the throne but still doesn’t sit on it.Jon approaches her and all she can talk about is the throne and the stories she heard of it from Viserys when they were younger. Interesting that at her moment of triumph, she falls back on stuff her brother told her.Jon’s angry at what she did but not nearly angry enough. Not NEARLY angry enough. She tries to get him to join her and frankly she sounds completely delusional. He embraces her, passes off like he’s on board, and then knifes her.I’m glad Jon was the one to do it but I’m disgusted at how difficult it apparently was for him. It didn’t come down to punishment for what she’d done or even self-preservation. The way it’s framed, it’s like he did it to save Arya and Sansa from her, which is fine, but it’s about so much more than that.Drogon comes in and freaks out that Dany’s dead. It looks like he might kill Jon but instead he turns and fires up the Iron Throne and melts it. On the one hand, good. On the other, people will probably never agree on the meaning of it. Is Drogon decrying that this awful thing ruined his mother? Is he saying that if Dany can’t have it, no one can? I don’t know right now.Drogon scoops Dany up and flies off, carrying her corpse away to … who knows where. I get that this is supposed to be poignant or whatever but it feels weird. Dare I say cute? It’s weird.We flash forward and Tyrion’s still in prison. He’s taken out by the Unsullied and we have a tribunal in place, with Sam, Edmure Tully, Arya, Bran, Sansa, Robert Arryn, Lord Royce, Yara, Davos, Brienne, Gendry, the new (nameless) Dornish prince and a few other dudes.Why does anyone here give a fuck what the Unsullied want? Yeah they helped save Westeros, but so did a bunch of other people. Dany and Drogon are gone. The Dothraki are who the hell knows where. What leverage does Grey Worm actually have?I think this is something that the book will do better, but: Tyrion suggests they elect the next monarch and after Edmure makes his case for comedic effect, everyone chooses Bran. Bran knew this was coming but still allowed everyone to make their choice.Bran being king sounds ridiculous until you think about it. He has no sense of greed, no sense of want, no sense of jealousy. He can devote himself wholly to this task, and he’s young. And, I guess, whenever he dies, the next king will be chosen in turn. Bran is very close to being “no one” in an actual sense; this is as close as it’d get to having no throne at all — the king isn’t really a “king” so much as he’s a caretaker and a steward, a true administrator. It’s growing on me.Sansa asks for and receives northern independence, making Bran king of the Six Kingdoms. I feel like this is a tidy middle finger to the “Sansa just doesn’t like Dany!” crowd. Sansa’s brother is literally king and the North would have a Stark king. Even still, Sansa wants the North to be free. Good for her.Jon’s sentence for killing Dany is, heh, joining the Night’s Watch. Congrats if you had “Jon becomes the Grover Cleveland of the Night’s Watch” on your bingo card. (EDIT: I did. Yeah Jon hasn’t formally been elected again yet, but come on, you know it’s gonna happen: Kelsey L. Hayes's answer to Could Stannis become the 1000th Lord Commander of the Night's Watch?)Jon is escorted out by Night’s Watch men. Do we still need a Watch? I’m guessing the Watch will have to reform its purpose. Are they gonna plug that hole in the Wall?I can see sort of hazy outlines around Jon and the prophecy they seem to have forgot existed and have never mentioned again. Jon didn’t kill the Night King, but he did lead that fight. He also personally killed Dany. GRRM will probably lay this one out better, but I think the case is there that Jon was in fact the “balancer” of all this, mitigating the two extremes. They just had terrible follow-through on it such that his parentage looks useless. It wasn’t so he could take the throne, but because they also ditched the prophecy, it doesn’t make sense in that context either even if it does in the final book. I’d forgive people for scratching their heads and wondering, “So fucking what?”Everyone’s heading out, including Jon taking a ship to the Wall with his old hair and his old dress. He, Sansa, Bran and Arya say their goodbyes. They’re very poignant.Arya says she’s heading West. She’s not the first Stark to go that way (hello, Brandon the Shipwright). I hope it goes better for her.Bran tells Jon he was where he needed to be. Cue all the discussions about whether Bran knowingly engineered or steered all of this. I think Bran knew what would happen, but he let other people choose how it would go.The Unsullied are going to Naath. I know this is meant to be bittersweet because Grey Worm and Missandei were going to go there. Fun fact: Naath has some weird poisonous shit called “butterfly fever” that has a tendency to kill outsiders who don’t have an immunity to it. So probably all the Unsullied are going to Naath just to die fairly soon of butterfly fever.Brienne is, I guess, Bran’s new Lord Commander of the Kingsguard. (I thought she’d’ve stayed with Sansa but I suppose not.) She fills in Jaime’s pages of the White Book, which is a touching, knightly scene and it’s clear it’s hard for her. “Died protecting his Queen.” You know that just killed her.Tyrion takes up his old seat and we have a new Small Council. Sam’s grand maester, Davos is Master of Ships, Bronn is Master of Coin (and he got Highgarden; this smells like fan service) and Brienne is representing the Kingsguard.Bran arrives and asks about Drogon. I wonder if Drogon went to Dragonstone or flew off to Valyria, and how far he took Dany’s body. We’ll probably never know.The Council gets to work. “A Song of Ice and Fire.” I think a lot of people called that one.The Council looks hopeful, forward-thinking and generally in good hands. I think we’re meant to conclude that everything will be all right now or at least better than it was or would have been under Dany.Do they have to call him “Bran the Broken”? Also, is Pod a Kingsguard?!Jon arrives back at Castle Black and we’ve come full circle. Tormund’s there to meet him. It looks grim but … it isn’t, really? Jon looks resigned to being miserable but his expression shifts a bit when he sees Tormund. It’s going to be OK.This is a gorgeous sequence here. Jon, Arya and Sansa are all shown in intertwined vignettes. Arya’s headed off on her own ship like Elissa Farman. Sansa’s getting dressed. Jon’s preparing to take over the Watch again. They’ve all found their purpose.It’s clear why Sophie Turner was so touched to get this scene as a storyboard. A lot of people guessed that Sansa’s outfits might include a coronation one, and so it is.Jon walks among the wildlings and there’s this sense of friendship and belonging. Jon reunites with Ghost. We have pets! PETS. Jon may have temporarily left Ghost, but it’s Ghost who’s part of the “real” Jon. Or something. Ghost is Jon’s destiny.Stark imagery on Arya’s ship. Love it. Stark sails, Stark prow. She’s her own woman now but still very much Arya STARK.“The Queen in the North!” I love her crown and the throne. She looks gorgeous. She’s also the most eligible bachelorette in the whole damn country.Sansa’s hairstyle here is signNow. For the first time, she has no notable hairstyle. No elaborate southern updo, no braids, no top knot thing going on. Sansa’s hair had always been a political statement or a copying of what she saw other people do. Now, in her own power, beholden to no one, her hair is a blank. She no longer needs to imitate anyone or make political cues. She has nothing left to prove. She won.An aside: I do wonder a bit about Rickon with all of this. With the Skagos plot cut from the show they could kill him off, but seeing how well the other Starks end up, I wonder if, in the books, Rickon ends up as Lord or even King Stark in the North with Sansa as his regent or co-ruler. Or maybe Rickon dies in the books too.Jon heads north of the Wall and it feels ambiguous as to whether he’s going north permanently (which I guess he technically can if he hasn’t said his vows yet?) or if he’s just temporarily escorting the wildlings back. Or maybe this is the Watch’s new mission, resettling north of the Wall. There’s a sprout coming through the snow, the proverbial “dream of spring.”This feels like a good ending for Jon. I still hold him accountable for stuff that happened. But this feels like where he belongs. He always wanted to be a ranger, and he never really felt more true belonging than he did when he was riding with Mance (and Ygritte) north of the Wall. Tormund’s words to him earlier feel like obvious foreshadowing now. This doesn’t feel like a punishment; it feels like Jon is allowed to be and do what he probably wanted to do the whole time. I guess this is maybe why Bran suggested the Watch? He knew that’s really what Jon wanted, even if Jon maybe didn’t know it himself.Jon gets to live a purposeful though nonpolitical life, and House Targaryen dies with him. It feels like a win.Final thoughts: I know a lot of people will feel like Bran being king is a copout and there should have been a “real” winner. I disagree. I think things worked out as well as they could have for everyone. I think Jon will be happier. I know Arya will be. Sansa can now rule without being beholden to anyone else. She’ll do a great job. And Bran will be a good king, someone worthy of the people around him. The focus isn’t on Bran, it’s on the people around him and working to rebuild. For once the king isn’t really the center of gravity, and that’s a good thing. I’m glad it closes on Arya, Sansa and Jon. The original title of the final book was “A Time for Wolves,” and boy howdy it was. The biggest damper, honestly, was how conflicted Jon was over killing Dany. I didn’t buy it for a second. I don’t think that’s on Harington; I think it’s a writing issue. Like I get that it has to be played up for drama purpose, but realistically, Jon wouldn’t (shouldn’t) have needed Tyrion to tell him to get his head out of his ass and do the necessary thing. I don’t know if they did this to make me feel better that Jon didn’t become king, or what, but it didn’t work. Everything else though … I’m happy. They were never going to please everyone and a huge chunk of people wouldn’t be happy with anything other than Dany and Jon ruling together and living happily. I can easily see GRRM coming up with something like this, albeit better written and set up. I’m satisfied, far more satisfied than I’d’ve been if Dany or Jon and Dany or, God help us, their incest baby had ended up on the throne. Thank you, powers that be, for sparing us Jon and Dany’s incest king/queen baby.And now, onward to “Winds of Winter.”

I have always been a huge fan of the many-worlds/multiverse theory. Mainly because it comes with this awesome fact that "it doesn't matter how extremely unlikely something is, as long as it is possible, it is inevitably real and somewhere out there".And accordingly, I loved toying with that idea, and taking it to cosmic extremes. To be fair, some of the universes I thought up were not overly intricate, more based around toying with atmosphere and concepts than being fully-fleshed out world. Still, at least some of them are somewhat evocative.Some examples:Universe A (minus the grass)A: a very old universe, near the end of its lifespan. All biological life ended eons ago, and most stars have long burned out. The only remaining semi-sentient entities being impossibly advanced (and durable) tools that were left behind by all the extinct super-races. Caught in idle thought for countless millenia, they wonder about the past - and long for their masters. Some might even be advanced enough to survive the big crunch that will come in a couple million years... (Btw, stumbled across this photo site when googling for a good image. Thats pretty exactly the mood I envisioned, yet it exists today. I'm beyond words.)Universe BB: a very young universe. Set in an age when no star systems had formed yet, only filled with gigantic pale blue proto-stars the size of todays galaxys (there's a scientific paper on that). And orbiting these unthinkably huge glowing spheres, there were cloudlike beings made of sentient energy, only able to form and exist because no higher and observing form of life existed yet. And feeding off them, evil lovecraftian beings far beyond our imagination...Universe CC: a fairly civilized sci-fi universe with highly advanced technology, including means of time traveling and causality alteration. But with a twist: some 200 years in the past there is a mysterious singularity in the time stream, a "gap" that cannot be traveled across. A brief time where technically nothing existed. Information about the time before is scarce, but it is known that the tech level was even higher - and that everybody was engaged in a universe-scale war. Maybe someone tried to blow up the universe. Or maybe the gap was placed there deliberately somehow, to avoid people traveling back and reacquiring the tech... ?Universe D (a bit like this at least)D: a small broken shard of a universe that was torn from the main body of the multiverse. A lot of laws of nature are damaged there. Causality. Distance. Logic. Especially time - it is broken to a degree that there is no time anymore, only "duration". Meaning as long as noone enters there to observe or experience it, time stands still. I imagine it as jagged cliffs of inky black stone under a one-color orange sky. No motion. No sound. No life. Absolute silence. Nothing begins, nothing ends.Universe E (yep, pretty much like that)E: another outlying universe. Only a tiny shard containing a single star system. Due to its extreme "distance" from all other universes, it became a kind of maximum security vault. Whenever an advanced civilization came across/created an object or entity that they found to be too dangerous to keep but impossible to destroy, they disabled it and sent it there via a one-way system. Rumor has it that there is a race of wardens there, called the Emessi - watching patiently over those items and incapacitated entities on their ravaged, sand-blasted desert worlds. Or maybe they are long dead, wiped out by a maybe-not-so-sleeping inmate, plotting for his return. But no one knows, all is speculation - since nothing can ever return from there.Universe F (well, minus the "dots")F - a world near the core of the multiverse (I know I know, that notion is just as silly as an "edge", but bear with me), that has existed since the existence of the multiverse itself. There, time's arrow can point in both ways. If you go there you will find only a single planet called Ao. On each of the shifting poles is a small hovering shrine containing a flame. One flame is white, one flame is black. Each is surrounded by a firestorm of their own kind. The white flame creates, the black flame obliterates. As the poles keep shifting, the planet remains locked in a constant balance of creation and destruction. But it's all a matter of perspective. If you happen to catch the other direction of the arrow of time, you will see the planet not as "Ao", but as "Oa" and the roles are actually switched. Then it looks like the white flame consumes, while the black flame creates. There is no "right" direction. Both are correct. But it takes a mind beyond that of a human to grasp both at once.(only when googling for an image I suddenly realized that Oa/Ao would most likely take a yin-yang shape...)

There is nothing that comes close to Ecocide of Vietnam. Way too many cover ups to not let this incident go public.It was the time of Vietnam war. Much has been written about the Vietnam war. My purpose here is not to review the tragic history, but to showcase the ecological imbalance it has brought upon.The Ecocide of Vietnam:Back in Vietnam war, American military were struggling big time with the Viet Cong Solders hiding in the forests. The Viet Cong soldiers had a greater knowledge of the South Vietnam jungle landscape, they got good food from the forest and provided them with able cover, they used this advantage for their Guerrilla warfare tactics. The United States decided to combat this by destroying the entire Jungle, so the Viet Cong won’t have food a place to hide.(Look at the above picture and the below, see how much has changed before and after the war. Is this acceptable ?)The two main chemicals that were widely used in Vietnam were Agent Orange and Napalm.Agent Orange: is a dangerous mix of two herbicides, it was dispersed by the Air Force in Operation Ranch Hand. Cargo planes carried the chemicals and sprayed the chemical 150 feet above the treetops. It killed off vegetation that had provided the Viet Cong with food and cover. Agent Orange was also very dangerous to people who directly came into contact.(Aircraft’s spraying Agent Orange to kill of the vegetation)Napalm: The other chemical used in deforestation was Napalm. This is a sticky substance and was dispersed onto vegetation and then ignited. It caused forest fire and burnt all nearby vegetation. Napalm was responsible for the destruction of much of the landscape.(Napalm being fired on the vegetation)There were lots of additional chemicals used to deforest the terrain. The US Army brought in heavy machinery to further alter the landscape in their favor. They used a widely destructive technique called Rome Plow. It looks like a simple machine with simple design, an eleven-foot wide, two and a half-ton blade attached to a 20-ton tractor. it caused devastating damage. The machine could clear out 1,000 acres of land a day. Imagine, they used 150 Rome Plow tractor. Not only did they clear the landscape, they would have also annihilated of all animals and tons of vegetation.(Rome Plow in full action)The result of this mindless deforestation, is that the country is still feeling the heat today. Environment is interconnected; If we negatively impact one area, the results will spread. The stupid war caused ecological imbalance, studies have revealed that close to 16 million tons of munitions were used in the war.They have created more than 30 million craters that are infertile due to lack of soil. These craters are being filled with drainage water that is becoming home to disease bearing organisms, further impacting the area.(This is what the war cost. The stupidity is irreversible. This is what we as humans contributed and are still contributing)Many effects of the ecocide have proven irreversible. Many species of animals and vegetation were greatly reduced and, in some cases extinct. We must understand how harmful the destruction really was beyond the human cost. It was about winning the war. Yes, I understand, But at what cost ? Take this into consideration when teaching the future generations about wars. Teach them to plant one tree a month.If you really care about the planet, its high time you start to plant a Tree.Image source: Google

Simple.He had already won at Gettysburg on the evening of July 1, 1863. It was his stubborn insistence on delivering a decisive victory at Gettysburg that turned a tactical victory into a decisive defeat.Let's look at the position the Army of Northern Virginia occupied on the late afternoon of July 1, to see how it all went wrong.Lee's standing orders for July 1 directed that no portion of the Army of Northern Virginia was to bring on a general engagement with the enemy. The reason for this was chiefly because the bulk of Lee's cavalry, under J.E.B. Stuart, were then separated from the army and not able to provide an accurate picture of the disposition and deployment of the Army of the Potomac, and Lee did not want his dispersed forces stumbling into an engagement and getting beaten in its component parts.As it played out, though, that dispersion actually worked out in the Confederates' favor. The Army of the Potomac was only able to occupy the Gettysburg area with two army corps, and their deployments north and west of the town were consistently outflanked by newly arriving Confederate forces. First, the division of Henry Heth brought on the battle by engaging John Buford's Federal cavalry, and then the I Corps under John Reynolds. Next, General Robert Rodes arrived on the field in a perfect position to flank the Federal position, but blundered the attack. Finally, Jubal Early's division arrived via the Harrisburg Road, outflanking the XI Corps on the Federal right and dislodging the entire Federal position on the first day.At this point, about 4-5 p.m. on July 1, 1863, the Army of Northern Virginia was the master of the field. The beaten Federal remnants withdrew through the town of Gettysburg to Cemetery Hill, where they assembled a fragile line from what remained of the units that had fought that day. This lull provided Lee with time to assess the situation and come up with a plan of action. He had several options before him, so let's review what they were.He could pursue the Federals through the town and immediately assault their new position on Cemetery Hill.He could hold off for the evening and renew the attack the following day.He could conclude that, by the following morning, the Army of the Potomac would be reinforced and in a strong defensive position, and that assaulting such a position would be an unappealing prospect. This conclusion would likely lead to a tactical disengagement from the Army of the Potomac at Gettysburg, in order to maneuver to a place where the conditions were more favorable for the Army of Northern Virginia.In the event, he actually chose #1. The problem that undermined this decision to press the attack lies partially with Lee himself, and partially with his subordinate commanders. Let's break it down:The first stumbling block was Lieutenant General Richard S. Ewell. Ewell was new to corps command. He had only recently returned to the army from a long recuperation from a wound he took at Second Manassas which resulted in the amputation of a leg. He now found himself commanding a large portion of "Stonewall" Jackson's old corps. At the front of his mind on the evening of July 1 was Lee's standing order not to bring on a general engagement with the enemy until the Army could be concentrated.As Ewell entered the town of Gettysburg on the late afternoon of July 1, Major Walter Taylor of Lee's staff found him, and directed that Lee wished him to attack and disperse the Federals south of town before they had a chance to dig in, "if possible." This brings up the other stumbling block to Lee's plan; his own discretionary orders. Where a man like Jackson took Lee's discretion to its very limit, a more timid man like Ewell might instead take that discretion and use it to find a way to not attack.In the event, Ewell actually did want to attack, and this order from Taylor cleared up any confusion that he might still have had about the orders not to bring on a general engagement. After all, here is a man from Lee's own staff telling him to attack, if possible. Ewell's subordinate generals, Rodes and Early, also urged an attack, but knowing that it would likely be their men going into this attack, asked Ewell to ask Lee for infantry support on the right. Ewell sent a member of his staff back to Lee in an effort to obtain that infantry support, and the response was not altogether encouraging.First, Lee told him that he had no infantry available to support Ewell's right in the potential assault. Second, he reiterated his desire to drive the Federals off Cemetery Hill, this time hedging it with the discretionary words, "if practicable." Ewell, who had in the intervening time scouted the hill and found it better defended than he imagined, now faced an attack without infantry support on his right, and providing him with the discretion to attack or not attack depending on whether he deemed it to be "practicable." Falling back into his natural caution, he determined it was not "practicable," and no attack was made. The result was that, by the dawn of July 2, Cemetery Hill was well defended, and the Federals had been reinforced by another four army corps (II, III, V, and XII).It was at this critical juncture that Lee should have accepted a tactical victory at Gettysburg, broken off the engagement, and maneuvered elsewhere to find a more favorable place to fight the decisive battle. Lieutenant General James Longstreet, Lee's most reliable general after the death of Jackson, was urging Lee to do that very thing.In Longstreet's mind, Lee's masterpiece was not Chancellorsville, where the army attacked a far larger enemy and won, but Second Manassas. The combination of having Jackson's corps weather repeated enemy attacks and then having Longstreet attack their flank with overwhelming force was exactly how Longstreet envisioned the decisive battle in Pennsylvania taking shape.Longstreet asserted long after the war that Lee's "blood was up." Even though this comment was made in the context of his defense of his own role at Gettysburg, the comment holds some truth to it. Lee, although generally calm and even-tempered as a man, was one of the more aggressive generals in American history. He loved to attack, and was always looking for ways to attack that could unbalance and defeat the enemy. In the case of Gettysburg, Lee was so desirous to attack and finish the job at Gettysburg that he would hear of no other alternatives, and in doing so, he likely condemned the Army of Northern Virginia to defeat.It is only possible to speculate about how the course of history could have changed, had Lee disengaged the Army of the Potomac at Gettysburg. We don't know how that effort would have played out, or it if would have been successful. But we do know a few things that can help us in that speculation, which are worth mentioning.Specifically, we know that by July 2, Lee would have had Stuart back in the fold. Any future maneuvering by the Army of Northern Virginia in Pennsylvania would not have been done "blindly," but rather with the keen eye of one of the war's predominant cavalry generals. Further, we know that Stuart was berated by Lee for his recent jaunt, and he would undoubtedly been seeking an opportunity to redeem himself in Lee's eyes. This motivation could have served Lee well in any campaign of maneuver.Also, we know that Lee's counterpart, George Meade, was brand new to army command. Meade had been appointed to replace Joseph Hooker only two short days before the Battle of Gettysburg began. It is true that Meade was a career soldier, and had much experience at all subordinate levels of command. It could be assumed that he would acclimate to army command faster than most, but even so, there would necessarily be a period of doubt as he filled out his own army staff and found his footing in his new position of great authority and responsibility. The plan of campaign and the staff that Meade inherited were entirely Hooker's at that point. He knew of basic dispositions, and the order of march for the subsequent few days, but that was it.Lee, in choosing to fight at Gettysburg, gave Meade a gift. Meade did not need to choose the battle, as his subordinates Buford, Reynolds, and later Hancock did that. After selecting Gettysburg as the place to fight, all Meade as the army commander needed to do was to urge his disparate army corps to converge on that place. He was an engineer with a keen eye for terrain, so he had an advantage there, it is true. But in fighting a defensive battle in a strong position chosen by other men, Meade was not really tested in his new capacity at Gettysburg.By contrast, had Lee disengaged and maneuvered, that would have been a test of Meade's newfound responsibilities. Where Lee knew how to maneuver an army and had the eyes and ears to do it well, Meade would have been learning on the fly. It is entirely possible this would not have mattered. But it is equally possible Meade would have erred, and Lee was the kind of commander who was talented at exploiting his enemy's mistakes.It likely needs be said that decisive victory for the Army of Northern Virginia was simply not a possibility at Gettysburg by July 2. The Federal position was too strong, it was held by too many men, and it was not going to be pushed off that ground unless by total disaster. Even in the event of disaster, the Army of Northern Virginia would be as badly mauled by victory as the Army of the Potomac would be by defeat and disaster. What could Lee hope to do in the subsequent days with an army that had just lost 25,000-30,000 men, nearly 40% of its strength?The logical conclusion by many modern observers is that Longstreet was likely correct. Maneuver should have been chosen over battle, because battle at Gettysburg in the best case scenario offered only temporary victory at a cost that the Confederacy could not sustain.

32, Female, Indian living in U.S.A, Educational qualification Masters.I started working in India when I was around 26. My annual salary was around 2 lakhs. I was super happy with the salary as I did not have any responsibilities and used to spent all of money without worrying about saving.After 2 years I got married and came to the U.S. After 6 months life turned out to be horrible as I was not allowed to work because of my dependent visa. After spending months being depressed I realized that the only way to get out of this mess to do something about it. All my friends and advisers asked me to study but the thought of spending another 50 lakh for a decorative masters did not make sense to me. There were others, especially relatives who talked to me about having babies but I was not ready to have kids when I myself was struggling to figure out who I am. Finally I started working towards pulling my life together.The first thing I did was to contact companies/CEOs/HRs asking for internships. When I say contact it involved emailing and cold calling people every hour of the day for about 3 months. It became my obsession. I had only one aim in my life and that was to build a career.For 3 months I never got any positive reply. I was heartbroken and started applying for Masters program. I was a topper back in India and hopeful that I would get some scholarship which would save me from my paying lakhs for getting into the Masters program. I cleared the tests and interviews but luck wasn’t with me this time too. I was denied a seat stating that I am ‘overqualified’ for the program since I already have a Masters.So I was back to square one, applying for random internships but this time I applied as a volunteer. Finally after around a month of constant applications I got one positive reply asking to appear for an interview. I was on cloud nine as this was one of the premier institutes and I had one chance to set everything right. I sat awake at night leaning and refreshing and long story short I was offered a voluntary position.My time volunteering was filled with hardships; I had no car. I used to spend almost 3 hours commuting every day just to work for free. On the top of everything my supervisor was extremely rude and unkind. It took a toll on me morally but I knew this was my only option. I cried to sleep several days but I was ready to volunteer the next day because anything was better than nothing.Long story short, I volunteered for an year and by the time I had got my work permit. As soon as I got the permit I got a permanent position at the same company but I was not satisfied. I was on fire. I had just one aim in my life and that was to get myself into the best position I could possibly achieve.In two years I jumped 3 companies, each time getting better positions and salary. I still was not satisfied. I wanted to get into the so called Google/Facebook kind of companies in my field. When I was working at my 3rd company I started my own start up only for the sole reason of making my CV more attractive. Finally, I was offered a contracting position at my dream company. To my surprise, I was still not satisfied. I still remember applying to more jobs on the day of receiving my offer letter. For me a permanent position at ‘google’ was better than a contracting position at ‘facebook’ or vice versa even though that would mean more applications and more interviews. Finally after 6 months, I got the a permanent job offer from my dream company.As of last week, I finished 1 year at my dream job and it is worth every struggle I have gone through. This is my sixth year in U.S and I am finally enjoying the fruit of 5 years of my hard work.From 2 lakhs per annum, my salary increased to almost 90 lakhs per annum. It never makes sense to convert dollars to rupees when you talk about salary because that is not how it works. Still secretly I do it just to appreciate what I have and to give a little pat on my back.This answer could have been written in one sentence but the whole point of writing the entire history is to make myself and everyone else (if I may) remind one fact of life. No matter how much hopeless your situation is, no matter if no one believes in you, no matter you get rejections after rejections, one day the stars will align for you. We just need to hold on till then.Thank you for reading. I hope you all have a great 2019!Edit: Thank you for all the love. Editing my answer to add a few clarifications based on the comments.For those of you saying this is a fake story, neither do I gain anything by cooking up a fake story nor do I have the time for it.Many are surprised by the ‘2 lakh per annum for a topper’ situation. Even though it sounds terrible, a lot of jobs start with less than 5 lakhs per annum whether you are a topper or not.Now coming to the last and interesting edit :) A few of you commented saying that I married an ‘NRI guy’ to take the easy way out and the entire situation is my own fault. Firstly I completely agree that I married an ‘NRI guy’ with a purpose. In fact I was so adamant about marrying an ‘NRI guy’ that I considered only guys working abroad as potential candidates when it came to my arranged marriage. You see, I was brought up in a small town in India and later on went to one of the metros for my Bachelors and Masters. I worked in another Metro after my studies. So between work and studies let’s just say I spent years living in different states. There was one thing which was common across all the places: Getting molested. It ranged from just pulling the hair to catcalling to groping to chasing in bikes. I do not know how many times but all I know is that it’s more than I care to count. I wish I could say that I was this drop dead gorgeous girl that and guys couldn’t just control their emotions. But this was not just me, all my friends, colleagues, all the women I have met in my life had similar stories to tell. In fact it was so common for all of us that we accepted it as a normal way of life. So by the time it was time for me to get married, sure I took the easy way out to get out from the deplorable state I was in. I wanted freedom, I wanted to watch a movie without scanning around every 5 mins, I wanted to roam freely in the night, I wanted to live without constantly thinking about who is going to touch me next. Also, I always see people very eagerly tagging women as ‘gold diggers’ for marrying the so called NRI guys but do you all think it’s as easy as wishing for an NRI groom and he magically appears on a white horse? We ‘gold diggers’ have to be fair skinned, look beautiful, come with a price tag and lots more. So let’s all reserve our name calling when it comes to arrange marriages. There is a reason why it is called ‘arranged’. So was it worth it? Last week I wasn’t feeling sleepy, so took my car, drove to the nearby ice cream shop around midnight got an ice cream, roamed a bit in the downtown without even thinking about a possible molester and signNowed home around 1am. So hell yeah, it was worth it. Having said this, there are many strong women who work hard to get out of these situation and not take the ‘easy way out’. I admire them and I respect them. However, this is what I chose to do and I stand by it.

I, like so many Democrats, saw Trump descend that escalator and LOL’s. After watching several YouTube videos on Trump, I made the standard barbs by “reminding people” of his multiple failed marriages, his multiple bankruptcies and a few other digs. Once I ran out of them, I decided perhaps a better way would be to find things I could use to praise HRC. So I Googled HRC on both the internet and YouTube. Not necessarily in this order but among the things I found:Hillary Clinton - The Clinton Body CountHillary Clinton = The Clinton FoundationClinton CashClinton Mena ArkI still listened to CNN on a daily basis. Along the way, I was introduced to Dinash D’Souza, Ben Shapiro, Mark Levin and Ann Coulter. At the time of the election primaries, none of these men would have been seen as “Pro-Trump”, skeptical at best. I would say they were quick to point out his faults just as they continue to do even today. However, today they are also quick to point out and praise his accomplishments.With CNN’s constant coverage and belittlement of Trump, I could see for myself the massive following and their tremendous response to his MAGA messages, as he move from city to city. Noting that while there were thousands at these rallies, which CNN refused to show, and at the same time HRC couldn’t fill a gymnasium, and their refusal to show. I began to suspect that maybe, just maybe we weren’t being told the truth. So I decided to dig deeper for the truth.D’Souza’s “Hillary’s America” introduced me to HRC’s “numerous scandals” Each of which I would research later on to assure myself of accuracy. What was “Whitewater” all about? What really happened in Mena, Ark? What is the real story of Vince Foster? What happened with Travelgate (Billy Dale)? This is one of the saddest stories - I cried for what was done to this man. HRC using the IRS and the FBI to harass Paula Jones, Jennifer Flowers, Eliz Grayson, Catherine Willy (all women involved with Bill). Her fundraising tactics. Bill Clinton’s efforts made to suppress “The Path to 9/11” = Disney won’t release the DVD, but you can see it on YouTube. If you want to know how HRC gets away with all this. This will tell you how it’s done. The FLAN pardons by Bill and greatly influenced by HRC in order to win the NY Senate seat. The Lincoln bedroom being rented and the removal of the White House china falls very low on the list.To dig deep, I reviewed the actual voting patterns of the Dem/Rep on Civil Rights, segregation, and racism. The deeper I dug, the upset I became for all the lies and distortions I had been told.Along my journey, I learned FDR (D), still today considered to be one of the most reverend presidents of all time, Promised America we would not enter WWII and refused Churchill’s pleas to do so. It wasn’t until Japan bombed Pearl Harbor that FDR not only found reason, but won the support of most of America to do so. What we were not told is that FDR knew of the imminent happening, he waited for it to happen, rather than to take pre-emptive action to prevent it. I also learned that in order to get Congress and Senator approval for establishing Social Security for War widows and their children, disabled vets, and the disabled, his trade off to get it was to leave the Jim Crow Laws in the South intact. When FDR created the “New Deal”, he did include blacks, but they remained segregated and assigned the lesser jobs. Otherwise, to collect SS you had to be at least 80 yrs old.Woodrow Wilson (D) e showed “The Birth of a Nation” at the White House - original name was “The Clansmen” racially charged the Jim Crow laws and revitalized the dwindling number of KKK members.Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, is quoted in 1922as saying “We should hire three or four colored ministers, preferably with social-service backgrounds, and with engaging personalities. The most successful educational approach to the Negro is through a religious appeal. We don’t want the word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population. And the minister is the man who can straighten out that idea if it ever occurs to any of their more rebellious members.” http://ProLIfe360.com/MargaretSanger Is it any wonder than even today the majority of Planned Parenthood Clinics are located in black neighborhood. She was a racial eugenicist.The one Democrat who was willing to take action against the blatant racism within his party was JFK and we all know what happened to him and his brother Robert. Even though it was Lyndon Johnson, his successor, who signed the 1964 Civil Rights Act, he did so with the most support on the Republican side. Not, however, with out saying, “We’ll have these n****’s vote for the next 200 years.” And for the next 50 years, it has been just that, only I would not use the “N” word to say it.Before the actual election, I spent hours and hours, day after day doing research of this sort. Everything I read or saw, I fact checked to the best of my ability. Somewhere in between, I realized, I never was a Democrat merely an uneducated Republican waiting to be discovered. It only took me 76 years to put it all together. I no longer watch CNN, MSNBC, etc.God be with you to teach you and guide you.

RAF squadrons during the Battle of Dunkirk and Britain were to become the blue prints for ready alert aircraft to dispatch within two minutes of the alert coming through the wireless. Getting airborne for the first flight of the day was rather easy. It was the second, third, fourth or fifth mission of the day with the same aircraft that made the difference between winning or losing the battle.But lets get a few things out of the way first. It was very rare that the engines of the Spitfires and Hurricane’s were running with pilots in the cockpits and airborne in 60 seconds or less. And nor were the turnaround times as short as 10 minutes after landing from an sortie. It was more like 30 minutes.As many have indicated, the main goal is to reduce the amount of pre-checks required before take off to the bare minimum - Magnetos On, Fuel lever low idle, richness lever maximum, engine start, taxi to runway.For this to be achieved the Supermarine manual along with the Hawker Hurricane equivalent were thoroughly reviewed both by the manufacturer of the engines, Rolls Royce and the air frame engineers to determine where pre-flight checks could be done well in advance and safely set in their pre-take off configuration. The fuel system was of particular concern as worry of vapor lock or flooding the engine, supercharger and the seals used to prevent leaks would be vulnerable to reversion and excessive rich setting in addition to pockets of air entering the fuel system (at the time, the pressurized carburetor was not yet available (1943) and none were fuel injected).Another signNow concern was the electrical system and the gyro’s - how fast could the gimbals become accurate and ‘alive’. Instruments went through several revisions between 1939 and the summer of 1940.Some sub-systems also had maximum temperature limits, primarily the single stage supercharger. Early tests had shown that extensive damage could occur if the supercharger was allowed to overheat during ground runs. Careful management of the engine was required as shock cooling could also occur if the supercharger was overheated over short time frames. It was not wise to fire up a cold Rolls Royce Merlin and taxi to take off in less than 5 minutes from a cold standing startup procedure. The exhaust manifolds were susceptible to cracking if poorly maintained or abused. Engines were carefully started before the first missions of the day and monitored by ground crews.During the Battle of Britain, the Luftwaffe were sending up to 5 bombing waves per day that sortied over a 1,000 airplanes per day, attacking airfields in the South of England and to the East and London. It was during these intense attacks that the RAF also experimented with high speed refueling with modified fuel vents installed in the wing fuel tanks (early attempts were not successful) to enable quick turnaround times. The re-arming of the guns was a particularly time consuming task that required smooth hands by the armaments ground crews. These chaps became masters and reduced times that nobody thought possible.Between the mechanics and armament ground crews, they made it possible for the RAF to fly 3 to 5 missions per day using the same airplanes. Attrition / replacement ratios were not in the RAF’s favor between October 1939 and December 1940 but sustainable if all flyable aircraft remained in service. Without these ground crews, the RAF losses would have been higher by a staggering number.The NCO’s managing the ground crews often wound up working on the aircraft side by side with the mechanics and armorers. It was either that or be destroyed. The crews worked around the clock and still managed to carry out major overhauls on engines, superchargers, propellers, gearboxes, guns, fuselage repairs, instrument service and cabling in time frames considered impossible today. The NCO’s developed rotation repair cycles that ensured ground crews could monitor each aircraft and where they were in the maintenance cycle and dedicated the right amount of crews to carry out the repairs quickly and then move on to the next one.The information and knowledge these crews gained proved invaluable as spare parts, engine management came into focus and enabled the ground crews to know exactly how each aircraft would perform during the days sorties. They knew where bugs were in each sub-system and prepared for their troublesome operation. Propeller governors would often be a problem during the first engine start of the day but was soon resolved because of the analysis ground crews carried out. Both the Spitfire and Hurricane were very capable of scrambling from a moments notice and be in the air in 120 to 180 seconds because of the steps described above.As production of Spitfires and Hurricanes ramped up, more ground crews trained, the rotation of aircraft became a well oiled machine within the RAF. During July, August and September, the RAF were fortunate enough to have as many new aircraft enter squadron service as they lost. The lack of pilots was the most pressing issue by late August.Sortie aborts fell dramatically as the crews knew what to look for and prepare aircraft for the first or last flight of the day. The relationship between the pilots and their crews played a key role in the availability of the aircraft for the next sortie. It enabled the crews to prioritize what needed to be fixed right now or could wait. These crews worked 12 to 15 hours a day, 7 days a week for months at a time during the Battle of Britain. Resources were limited including replacement mechanics and armorers until September. The RAF was struggling to find sufficiently trained pilots which created further burdens.Below is an Addendum (italics) to the original answer, that I had posted to a response in the comments section.These men and women worked tirelessly, with little credit after the war. Truck drivers, refuelers, mechanics, airframe fabricators, machinists… the list is far longer than many realize. Just keeping the logistics pipeline operating was a 24 hour a day job. Driving lorries filled with 2,000 gallons of high octane fuel as He-111’s dropped bombs could literally be, a shattering experience. There is no doubt in my mind that many ‘civilian’ casualties during the Battle of Britain should in fact, be listed as killed in action while serving their country.The number of men and women that served at RAF bases between 1939 and 1941 was far higher than actual recorded numbers in the archives. Many were temporary and had other civilian jobs in addition to their ground crew duties.Just feeding the ground crews was an epic nightmare at some RAF stations. The local communities wound up doing many of these services without any formal recognition of their tireless efforts. Without them, morale would have plummeted, let alone reduced efficiency of the fighter wings flying up to half a dozen sorties per day.I attempted to calculate how many people touched each aeroplane that was required for readiness, enabling the pilot to fly a fighter sweep in 1940. That number exceeds 175 different military and civilian personnel for each Spitfire or Hurricane - every day. This does not include the actual manufacturing of the aircraft. So let me put it another way, if a Squadron had 12 (up to 24) serviceable aircraft, it likely had over 1,500 men and women involved in its operation. Yes, some duties were duplicate and covered by the same personnel for multiple aircraft. But this overlap was in fact, rather small, less than 20%. A Spitfires fuel capacity was a mere 85 imperial gallons - enough to fly a single sortie and hopefully had enough to return to base (many early missions found pilots pushing the limits and running out of fuel). That’s 1,100 / 2,200 gallons of fuel per squadron, per mission. A lorry (s) would be empty in a single day for one squadron aircraft. Each RAF base would have a minimum of two squadrons. Some, such as RAF Manston had up to 4/6 squadrons. Manston was continually targeted by the Luftwaffe, which mean it was also heavily fortified with AA gunner crews, further increasing the number of men and women who’s sole job was to defend the airfield.Many women drove lorries filled with ammunition to RAF Manston for the aircraft and AA guns. Over 180,000 women served in the RAF Women’s Auxiliary Air Force between 1939 and 1946. They never received the same recognition the pilots did. In my opinion, it’s long overdue. Several books since World War II documented their service but have never been popular in schools or used as a central source of academic research. Some of them should be mandatory reading.It was not all Hollywood and movie star results. The RAF lost 1,744 aircraft from bombing attacks and aerial combat with over 1,200 Allied pilots losing their life between July and October of 1940.Without the sacrifice and quick learning achieved by ground crews, the RAF could have lost the Battle of Britain. It’s that simple.Photo: (c) Author at Battle of Britain Museum in front of Mk I SpitfireAdditional Resource: Partial Publication (incomplete) of Rolls Royce Merlin Engine maintenance manual;Rolls Royce Merlin Single Stage Engines Maintenance ManualAdditional References - RAF Women Auxiliary Air ForceEscott, Beryl, Women in Air Force Blue, Patrick Stephens, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-066-7Escott, Beryl, Our Wartime Days, The WAAF in World War II, Sutton Publishing Ltd, 1995. ISBN 0-7509-0638-3Escott, Beryl, The WAAF : A History of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force, Shire Publications, 2003. ISBN 0-7478-0572-5 (also quoted in context of Czech WAAFs)Gane Pushman, Muriel, We All Wore Blue: Experiences in the WAAF, Tempus, 2006. ISBN 978-0-7524-4130-6Halsall, Christine, Women of Intelligence. Winning the Second World War with Air Photos, The History Press, 2012. ISBN 978-0-7524-6477-0Manning, Mick & Granström, Brita: Taff in the WAAF (English Association Award Winner), Janetta Otter-Barry Books (Frances Lincoln), 2010. ISBN 978-1-84780-093-0Rice, Joan, Sand In My Shoes: Coming of Age in the Second World War: Wartime Diaries of a WAAF, Harperpress, 2006. ISBN 0-00-722820-1Stone, Tessa. "Creating A (Gendered?) Military Identity: The Women's Auxiliary Air Force in Great Britain in the Second World War", Women's History Review, October 1999, Vol. 8, Issue 4, pp. 605–624, scholarly studyTurner, John Frayn (2011). The WAAF at War. Barnsley, Yorkshire: Pen and Sword Aviation.Watkins, Elizabeth, Cypher Officer, Pen Press Publications, Brighton, 2008. ISBN 978-1-906206-27-7 A first-hand account by a young WAAF cypher officer on active duty in the Egypt, Kenya, the Seychelles and Italy in World War II.Wyndham J., Love is Blue, Heinemann, 1986. ISBN 0-00-654201-8Younghusband, Eileen, Not an Ordinary Life. How Changing Times Brought Historical Events into my Life, Cardiff Centre for Lifelong Learning, Cardiff, 2009. ISBN 978-0-9561156-9-0 (Pages 36–70, 251–55 and 265–67 describe the experiences of a WAAF radar Filterer in World War II.)Younghusband, Eileen, One Woman's War, Candy Jar Books, 2011. ISBN 978-0-9566826-2-8Have a nice flight!

NASA Says Earth Is Greener Today Than 20 Years Ago Thanks To China, IndiaNASA has some good news, the world is a greener place today than it was 20 years ago. What prompted the change? Well, it appears China and India can take the majority of the credit.In contrast to the perception of China and India's willingness to overexploit land, water and resources for economic gain, the countries are responsible for the largest greening of the planet in the past two decades. The two most populous countries have implemented ambitious tree planting programs and scaled up their implementation and technology around agriculture.India continues to break world records in tree planting, with 800,000 Indians planting 50 million trees in just 24 hours.The recent finding by NASA and published in the journal Nature Sustainability, compared satellite data from the mid-1990s to today using high-resolution imagery. Initially, the researchers were unsure what caused the signNow uptick in greening around the planet. It was unclear whether a warming planet, increased carbon dioxide (CO2) or a wetter climate could have caused more plants to grow.After further investigation of the satellite imagery, the researchers found that greening was disproportionately located in China and India. If the greening was primarily a response from climate change and a warming planet, the increased vegetation shouldn't be limited to country borders. In addition, higher latitude regions should become greener faster than lower latitudes as permafrost melts and areas like northern Russia become more habitable.The greening of the planet.NATURE SUSTAINABILITYThe map above shows the relative greening (increase in vegetation) and browning (decrease in vegetation) around the globe. As you can see both China and India have signNow greening.The United States sits at number 7 in the total change in vegetation percent by decade. Of course, the chart below can hide where each country started. For example, a country that largely kept their forests and vegetation intact would have little room to increase percent vegetation whereas a country that heavily relied on deforestation would have more room to grow.Comparing the greening of various countries around the globe.National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationNASA used Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer(MODIS) to get a detailed picture of Earth's global vegetation through time. The technique provided up to 500-meter resolution for the past two decades.Both China and India went through phases of large scale deforestation in the 1970s and 80s, clearing old growth forests for urban development, farming and agriculture. However, it is clear that when presented with a problem, humans are incredibly adept at finding a solution. When the focus shifted in the 90s to reducing air and soil pollution and combating climate change the two countries made tremendous shifts in their overall land use.It is encouraging to see swift and rapid change in governance and land use when presented with a dilemma. It is something that will continue to be a necessary skill in the decades to come.Source - Forbes, NASA

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