IN BRIEF : WASHINGTON, D. C. : Satellites Called Key to Fight on Famine

Satellite-gathered data on weather, crops and environmental damage will be crucial in avoiding world famine in the 21st Century, an Ohio lawmaker said in urging support for U.S. Earth-observation programs. Rep. Tony P. Hall (D-Ohio) said satellites “are basic tools for humanity in the search for solutions to hunger.” But according to a report, funding for the primary U.S. satellite program, Landsat, is in doubt. Hall, chairman of the House Select Committee on Hunger, said the study, “Satellite Technology and World Food Security,” offers “clear evidence that any loss of our satellite capability will directly affect our ability to avert famine.”