The effects of deforestation on the Earth are massive. Land is routinely cleared and degraded for agriculture and the production of wood and paper products. National Geographic calls this plight a “forest Holocaust,” reporting that more than 80 percent of the planet’s natural forests have been lost to deforestation. The U.S. State Department estimates that forests “four times the size of Switzerland” are destroyed every year. Deforestation’s impact on climate change has piqued NASA’s interest in documenting its progress across the globe. Here are seven examples of deforestation as seen from space. (Text: Katherine Butler)