NASA satellites might capture some amazing images of the Earth's surface, but they capture some incredibly depressing shots, too. On the left, above, is the Amazon rainforest as it existed in 1975 in Rondonia, a region in western Brazil. On the right is that same stretch of rainforest in 2012.
As MNN points out, it's encouraging that deforestation has slowed, but huge damage has already been done:
