So, what are your three questions?
My guess is that your first question will be:
Then your next question is liable to be:
The last question that a thoughtful person who takes the long view of Life might ask is:
For various reasons, I have been a player in the game of Change a little longer than you. I am familiar with the rules of the game and I know a bit about the Loser's Prize. I have seen the remains of the prize after it was awarded to ancient cultures in other parts of the world.
In Egypt, China and the deserts of the USA, ancient paintings and sculpture told me what a beautiful place it once was, and revealed what a pleasant and rich life was enjoyed there. That is, in the time before they won the Prize.
I definitely do not want to win this Loser's Prize. Nor do I want you to win it. This game of Change is a hard game but it is not a competitive game. It need not pit me against you, or both of us against anyone else. The secret of how to win this game, of how to stay in it forever and enjoy only the Change that you want, is the exact antitheses of competition. The secret of winning is cooperation.
Therefore to help you in the game, I will answer your three questions to the best of my ability. I want you to win also. It is in my interests for you to win.
I will answer the first question in this chapter. The answer to the second question will take up all the chapters of this book but the last. In my final chapter, I will provide the best answer that I now understand for the third question.
How and why does landcover change? What are the mechanisms (how) and causes (why) of landcover change?
Landcover can change in two principal ways in response to two very different driving forces. These are climate and humans. The landcover change resulting from both types of drivers can be detected and interpreted using satellite data. Both types will be discussed and illustrated in this book.
