Google Earth GIFs, 'Timelapse' Project, Show Startling Impact Of Humans On The Planet

Google has released some stunning time-lapse images of our changing planet, highlighting some of the most startling impacts made by humans.

The project, called Timelapse, was undertaken in conjunction with Time, NASA and the United States Geological Survey. Satellite images taken by the Landsat Program from 1984 to 2012 have been compressed from trillions of pixels into small GIFs and a zoomable map.

"We believe this is the most comprehensive picture of our changing planet ever made available to the public," Google wrote on their official blog. "We also hope it can inform the global community’s thinking about how we live on our planet and the policies that will guide us in the future."

The project features incredible environmental changes, including the retreat of the Columbia Glacier, deforestation in Brazil and coal mining in Wyoming.

Recent polling suggests Americans place less importance on environmental issues than they did in the 1970s. Yet a majority of Americans surveyed acknowledge climate change is both occurring and manmade.

Take a look at the GIFs below.