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SPY satellites which once tracked the movements of the Red Army could
soon be keeping an eye on the world鈥檚 changing environment.
Spy satellites are one of the CIA鈥檚 most important sources of information.
From time to time, the agency has passed on information about high-risk events,
such as volcanic activity. But now, John Deutsch, the head of the CIA, is
proposing to use satellite images to track environmental changes by monitoring
some 500 sensitive sites around the globe.
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Spy satellites 鈥渢hat track the movement of tanks through the desert can, at
the same time, track the movement of the desert itself, see the sand closing in
on formerly productive fields, or hillsides laid bare by deforestation and
erosion,鈥� Deutsch told the World Affairs Council in Los Angeles last month. It
is not the first time such a plan has been proposed. Al Gore, for example,
suggested it when he was still a senator in 1991.
Last year a 60-strong group called MEDEA鈥攎ade up of scientists who have
been cleared by the security agencies鈥攂egan to compile a list of
monitoring sites, concentrating on sensitive or remote areas. 鈥淭his will give
scientists an ongoing record of changes in the Earth that will improve their
understanding of environmental processes,鈥� Deutsch said. Poor historical records
in many areas make it hard to assess the extent of the climate change, for
example.
Spy satellites will collect environmental images in off-peak hours when not
monitoring 鈥減riority targets鈥�. Deutsch said the new mission will cost 鈥減erhaps
one-tenth of a per cent of the intelligence budget for collection and analysis.鈥�