From the air, ecologist Greg Asner uses a spectrometer and high-powered lasers to map nature in meticulous kaleidoscopic 3D detail -- what he calls “a very high-tech accounting system” of carbon. Asner's mapping technology produces detailed, complex pictures of how human activity affects our ecosystems. In a recent Ted talk, Asner, of the MacArthur-supported Carnegie Airborne Observatory, gives a clear message: To save our ecosystems, we need more data, gathered in new ways.
