<p>This past month brought <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/photos-of-flooding-in-serbia-and-bosnia-2014-5">disastrous floods to the Balkans</a> leaving hundreds dead and thousands displaced.</p>
<p>If not for a new European satellite, one particularly hard hit town, Balatun, wouldn't have gotten the emergency relief needed.</p>
<p>Flood photos taken from the satellite, Sentinel 1A, showed that current flood mapping had not incorporated Balatun, which lies near the convergence of two rivers.</p>
<p>"I had a first look and discovered that we were missing an important flooded area visible in the middle of the image," said Jan Kucera of the European Commission's Joint Research Center.</p>
<p>Kucera is supervising the technical aspects of Emergency Management Services for Copernicus, a global monitoring and security program for which Sentinel 1A was built.</p>
<p>You can see the extent of flooding in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia from May 22nd to the 24th in red picked up by NASA's MODIS system (purple are urban areas):<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table full"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/538792c76bb3f78c5629a00d-830-571/screen shot 2014-05-29 at 4.03.22 pm.png" border="0" alt="Balkins Flooding" /><p class="source"><span><a href="http://oas.gsfc.nasa.gov/Products/010E050N/MFM_2014144_010E050N_3D3OT.png">NASA</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div>But here's what it looked like to Sentinel 1A on May 24th. Black areas represent water:</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/538799e6ecad04175229a017-1200-924/sentinel-1ascan-3.jpg" border="0" alt="Sentinel 1A_scan" /><p class="source"><span>ESA</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>The area in the red box above was used to make the map below, showing the flooded areas of the village of Balatun in northeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina. Serbia is just north of the river:<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table full"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/538602c4ecad043d034e37df-1200-858/flood_map.jpg" border="0" alt="Flood_map" /><p class="source"><span>ESA/European Commission </span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<h2>Just the beginning</h2>
<p>Sentinel 1 has only been up about two months. It is not yet technically operational and is still undergoing calibration. However, it has already been hard at work <a href="http://emergency.copernicus.eu/mapping/copernicus-emergency-management-service#zoom=3&amp;lat=34.16916&amp;lon=43.26132&amp;layers=0B00000T">monitoring natural disasters worldwide</a>.</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/53860858eab8ea85551e8979-1200-1091/namibia_from_sentinel-1a.jpg" border="0" alt="Namibia_from_Sentinel 1A" /><p class="source"><span>ESA</span></p><p class="caption">Just over a week after Sentinel 1A was launched, it took one of its first images - that of the Zambezi flood. The flood plain is to the left.  To the right, is Victoria falls.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p>The Balkans was not the first instance in which the satellite has provided assistance. Previously, it helped determine the extent of flooding in Namibia.</p>
<p>"Currently, it's practically impossible to monitor the situation from the ground because accessibility is difficult and virtually impossible during the rainy season," <a href="http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Observing_the_Earth/Copernicus/Sentinel-1/Sentinel-1_aids_response_to_Namibia_flood">said Pauline Mufeti</a>, Head of Namibia's National Hydrological services.</p>
<p>Photo-equipped aircraft are of little use in rainy conditions, because clouds can obscure their view of the ground. When the clouds clear, these planes can still only image small areas at a time. This is why the radar-equipped Sentinel is important: It can detect through clouds and rain and can even image in darkness.</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/538609286bb3f73d354e37db-1200-858/namibia_flood_mapped_by_sentinel-1a.jpg" border="0" alt="Namibia_flood_mapped_by_Sentinel 1A" /><p class="source"><span>ESA/Tiger Net/Dept. of Water Affairs/GeoVille/DHI/TU Vienna/GEO</span></p><p class="caption">The Namibia map created with the help of the satellite image.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p>This means it can provide near real-time views of disaster areas helping decision makers identify those in peril and strategically plan their response.</p>
<p>In the case of April's Zambezi flood, which flooded parts of Namibia, Zambia, and Botswana, the Sentinel's satellite data was acquired and processed within several hours.</p>
<p>The graphic below gives you a rough idea of how Sentinel images and what those images can be used for:</p>
<p><iframe width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" src="http://www.esa.int/spaceinvideos/content/view/embedjw/428482"></iframe></p>
<h2>"A new era in Earth observation"</h2>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/53862f3c6bb3f7b43e4e37de-1200-2000/antarctica_peninsula_from_sentinel-1a.jpg" border="0" alt="Antarctica_Peninsula_from_Sentinel 1A" /><p class="source"><span>ESA</span></p><p class="caption">Just 10 days after launch, Sentinel 1A took this radar image of the Antarctic Peninsula.  The differing colors show how water, land, and ice differentially reflect the radar.</p></div><p></p></div></div>The ESA has called the Sentinels a "new era in Earth observation." The satellite responsible for the flooding images was Sentinel 1A, just the first of about a dozen to be launched as part of the European Space Agency's Copernicus environmental monitoring program.</p>
<p>When they are all launched, they will change <a href="http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Observing_the_Earth/Copernicus/Sentinel-1/A_new_era_in_Earth_observation">"the way we manage our environment, understand and tackle the effects of climate change, and safeguard everyday lives,"</a> said the ESA in a press release.</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/538630b169beddbf644e37db-1200-1715/brussels_from_sentinel-1a.jpg" border="0" alt="Brussels_from_Sentinel 1A" /><p class="source"><span>ESA</span></p><p class="caption">Another of the first images: Brussels with Antwerp harbour on the top left. "The green colours correspond to vegetation, red-blue to urban areas, white to high-density urban areas and black to waterways and low-reflective areas such as airport runways," said a press release.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p>Each Sentinel mission consists of two satellites (A and B) outfitted to achieve specific monitoring goals. Sentinel 1 A and B satellites orbit 180 degrees apart imaging the entire Earth via radar every six days. The satellites' versatility is expected to aid<a href="http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Observing_the_Earth/Copernicus/Sentinel-1/A_new_era_in_Earth_observation"> in a wide variety of projects </a>including ice mapping, oil spill monitoring, maritime security, forest mapping, and emergency imaging.</p>
<p>Sentinel 2 will take high resolution optical images, rather than radar like Sentinel 1. 2A is expected to launch April 2015 and B a year later. In addition to emergency use, these satellites are expected to provide land imaging services to aid in forestry, industry, and agriculture.</p>
<p>Future Sentinel missions (3, 4, 5, 5P, and 6) will <a href="http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Observing_the_Earth/Copernicus/Overview4">focus on ocean, climate, and atmospheric monitoring</a>.</p>

Game-Changing Satellite Shows Flood Area That Everyone Was Missing

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image on-image"><a title_source="Shutterstock" title_caption="Agricultural workers, who help farmers maintain crops and livestock, marry others with the same job 27% of the time." class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/560965189dd7cc23008bd88c-960/shutterstock_287585525.jpg"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/560965189dd7cc23008bd88c-3615-2711/shutterstock_287585525.jpg" alt="couple love marriage holding hands relationships farm farmers" data-mce-source="Shutterstock" /></a><p class="source"><span>Shutterstock</span></p><p class="caption">Agricultural workers, who help farmers maintain crops and livestock, marry others with the same job 27% of the time.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Working around the clock to till the fields or raise livestock leaves very little time to also sow the seeds of love.</p><p>But as it turns out, farmers and agricultural workers have figured out a relationship loophole: marrying their own kind. </p><p>As <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2015/09/21/these-are-the-jobs-where-people-are-most-likely-to-marry-each-another/">The Washington Post</a> recently detailed, <a href="http://priceonomics.com/">Priceonomics</a>, a company that helps companies crawl and structure data from the web, analyzed <a href="http://www.census.gov/">US Census data</a> to see <a href="http://priceonomics.com/what-professions-are-most-likely-to-marry-each/%0A">what professions are most likely to marry each other</a>.</p><p>Farming, Fishing, and Forestry has the highest percentage of people marrying within the same industry at 25%, and among the top ten occupations more prone to mixing business with pleasure, two are in agriculture.</p><p>Agricultural workers, who help farmers maintain crops and livestock, marry others with the same job 27% of the time - and agricultural managers, such as farmers and ranchers, do so 20% of the time.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/56044e609dd7cc0f008bcd94-1200-964/bi_graphics_percentage of people married to someone who has the same job.png" alt="BI_Graphics_Percentage of people married to someone who has the same job" data-mce-source="Mike Nudelman/Business Insider" /><p class="source"><span>Mike Nudelman/Business Insider</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>Dan Kopf, author of the Priceonomics analysis, notes the high rate of agriculture workers and managers comingling may be attributed to the less diverse mix of occupations available to people in <a href="http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/rural-economy-population/business-industry.aspx">rural communities</a> compared to urban ones.</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">Jerry Miller, founder of niche dating site FarmersOnly.com, says it all comes down to lifestyle compatibility. </span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">Miller tells Business Insider he founded the site for farmers to meet like-minded people after encountering a recently-divorced female farmer struggling to find someone new. The woman, Miller says, would get bites on traditional dating sites from "city guys," but they would try to arrange dates at times incompatible with her busy farming schedule.</span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">Many farmers Miller has talked to, he says, work seven days a week, 365 days a year. "How many people in regular business could relate to that?" he asks.</span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">In 2005, with the tagline "City Folks Just Don't Get It!" Miller created the online dating site specifically catered to people who understand the rural farmer lifestyle, and in the ten years since more than 4 million people have signed up on the site.</span></p><p class="p1">In general, <span>Dr. Mike McNulty, a Master Certified </span><a href="http://www.gottman.com">Gottman</a><span> Therapist and relationship expert, </span>notes the list isn't too surprising, considering most of these occupations likely share atypical hours and intense demands and responsibilities.</p><p>"Each occupation has a distinct way of life that goes with it," McNulty says. "They all involve long hours, at least during certain seasons of the year, that may result in an inability to participate in the mainstream social activities of one's peers."</p><p>This may make it difficult for people in these occupations to meet others outside of work.</p><p>"It may feel more workable to marry someone who shares the same kind of schedule, rather than having to constantly explain the demands of one's position to a partner or spouse who works in a different profession," McNulty says. "The fact that partners hold the same type of position may mean that they can relate to each other's compassion for work or the challenges one another face."</p><p>While there are lots of benefits for spouses who share the same way of life, McNulty cautions anyone looking for a spouse with the same job about the pitfalls.</p><p>"Even when they do have the same job, they still will have individual differences, which will result in those all too common perpetual problems that come with being married," he explains. "Partners must learn to manage such problems over time, through understanding and compromise and putting their relationship first. If partners enter into marriage believing their shared way of life makes them exempt from conflict, they will be in for a big surprise."</p><p><em>It's worth noting that the Census Bureau tracks 500 professions, and data on same-sex marriages was not available for this analysis.</em></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/barbara-corcoran-working-at-all-hours-2015-1">Here's The Mistake Employees Make Early In Their Career That Hurts Their Productivity</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="1oN3djcjrWIKgueHlQPiUCsAg8qVuyCZ" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', '1oN3djcjrWIKgueHlQPiUCsAg8qVuyCZ',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

Here's why people with this kind of job are most likely to marry each other

<p><div class="image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image"><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/528bd9966da811f86e8b4568-887-665/corporate-trees-ups.jpg" border="0" alt="Corporate Trees UPS" /><p class="source">Shutterstock</p></div></div></div><em>This post is sponsored by <a href="http://www.responsibility.ups.com/Sustainability" target="_blank">UPS</a>.</em></p>
<p><em></em>Why would a corporation want to make itself more sustainable? Because it's good <keyword id="6355515" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Business">business</keyword>.</p>
<p>It takes real effort (and a lot of moving parts) to change a big company, but those with serious <keyword id="49089" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Sustainability">sustainability</keyword> goals can become more efficient, improve their reputations, and find new business opportunities.</p>
<p>Here are four major corporations - a car manufacturer, a furniture retailer, a food packager, and a bank - with one thing in common: They're all trying to carry out ambitious sustainability plans. </p>
<h2><strong>Heading Back To The Farm</strong></h2>
<p><strong></strong>Leading packaged food-maker <strong>General Mills</strong> has a long history in sustainability: Back in the 1930s, its Green Giant brand encouraged crop rotation as a way to protect farmland from the then-devastating Dust Bowl. According to its most recent <a href="http://www.generalmills.com/~/media/Files/CSR/2013_global_respon_report.ashx" target="_blank">sustainability report</a>, General Mills plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, energy usage, and water usage by 20% within two years, and solid waste generation by 50%. </p>
<p>But as its operations got cleaner, the company discovered a larger problem at the beginning of its supply chain. The farms where General Mills gets raw materials such as corn, oats, and sugar <a href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/general-mills-commits-to-sustainably-source-10-priority-ingredients-by-2020-225198912.html" target="_blank">are responsible for</a> nearly two-thirds of the company's overall greenhouse gas emissions and 99% of its water usage.</p>
<p>Top suppliers must now complete a scorecard on how much energy and water they use, along with how much greenhouse gas and solid waste they generate. Over time, General Mills will favor the cleaner suppliers in its purchasing. The company is working with the World Wildlife Fund to meet its goal of <a href="http://www.generalmills.com/Responsibility/Sourcing.aspx" target="_blank">sustainably sourcing 100% of its top 10 ingredients</a> by 2020.</p>
<h2>Feel Better About Assembling That Bookcase</h2>
<p>Swedish company <strong>Ikea</strong> is the world's largest furniture retailer, with stores in 26 countries. It says 91% of its main home furnishing materials, including packaging, are made from renewable, recyclable, or recycled goods. By the end of fiscal 2014, 100% of it will be. Worldwide, Ikea is investing $2.01 billion in solar and wind energy.</p>
<p>Ikea uses wood in a lot of its products, but wood isn't automatically sustainable if it's been logged illegally or taken from forests that aren't managed responsibly. The retailer partners with various nonprofits to support responsible forestry. In addition, the company is encouraging sustainability at home. As Ikea's <a href="http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/pdf/sustainability_report/sustainability_report_2012.pdf" target="_blank">sustainability report</a> states, "To change behavior, it's important to find approaches that are relevant to how people actually live."</p>
<p>To that end, they sell energy efficient appliances, <a href="http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30167932/" target="_blank">recycling bins for small kitchens</a>, and lamps <a href="http://www.ikea.com/us/en/search/?query=led+lamps" target="_blank">pre-fitted with energy-efficient LEDs</a> (by the end of 2016, all the lighting they sell will be converted to LED). In the U.K., <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ikea-selling-solar-panels-in-uk-2013-9" target="_blank">they are selling solar panels directly to the consumer</a> and <a href="http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2013/11/13/ikea-charging-electric-cars" target="_blank">also letting customers with electric vehicles get free fast-charges for their cars</a> while they shop. </p>
<h2>Pushing Fewer Papers</h2>
<p>The financial services behemoth <strong>Bank of America</strong> has <a href="http://about.bankofamerica.com/en-us/csr-report-2012/environmental-sustainability.html#fbid=ZUGxIEl9Rkd" target="_blank">announced</a> a 10-year goal to invest $50 billion (on top of $20 billion already invested) toward for-profit projects devoted to energy efficiency, renewable energy, and alternative transportation. BofA says the move will create jobs and generate profits. </p>
<p>Recently, BofA examined its procedures and supply chain, cutting down on paper consumption by 20%. And by managing energy better and consolidating office space, the bank also reduced energy usage by 25% and water usage by 20%. </p>
<p>BofA volunteers are encouraged to participate in various conservation efforts, such as the Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup. Each September, BofA volunteers spend a day picking up cigarette butts, food wrappers, fishing nets, and appliances polluting our waterways. Other efforts include a $250,000 grant from their foundation to conduct urban forest assessments in five U.S. cities. </p>
<h2>Where Did That Car Seat Come From?</h2>
<p class="intro"><strong>Ford</strong> conducts a <a href="http://corporate.ford.com/microsites/sustainability-report-2012-13/blueprint-materiality">public analysis</a> of its sustainability strengths and weaknesses, with goals prioritized on a <a href="http://corporate.ford.com/microsites/sustainability-report-2012-13/blueprint-materiality-matrix" target="_blank">decision matrix</a>. Among other initiatives, they've reduced their global water use by more than 10 billion gallons.</p>
<p class="intro">The car manufacturer tries to make its supply chain transparent so they'll know the original source of all of its raw materials - which sounds like it should be an easy process, but it actually isn't for a huge global corporation like Ford. That's because Ford's suppliers often have their<em> own</em> suppliers, making it difficult to find out the point of origin for something like the leather used in car seats or the chrome used on the trim. Ford is also actively working toward making sure there is no forced labor or trafficking anywhere in the chain. </p>
<p>Along with Bank of America, Ford is an investor in a billion-dollar "green bond" that has been set up to support "climate smart" investments in emerging markets, <a href="http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2013/11/08/ford-microsoft-invest-green-bond?mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRoluarOZKXonjHpfsX66esvXaeylMI%2F0ER3fOvrPUfGjI4CTMZlI%2BSLDwEYGJlv6SgFSLHEMa5qw7gMXRQ%3D" target="_blank">according to GreenBiz.com</a>.</p>
<div style="padding: 15px; border: 1px solid #999999; margin-bottom: 10px; font-size: 15px!important; line-height: 25px; overflow: auto; vertical-align: middle;"><img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/52409cf06bb3f757728b457b-125-42/ups-logo-125.jpg" border="0" alt="UPS logo" width="125" style="float: left; margin: 2px 15px 0px 0px !important; display: block;" /><em>For more about logistics and sustainability, <a href="http://www.responsibility.ups.com/Sustainability" target="_blank">visit UPS.com</a>. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/category/destination-sustainable"> <strong>Read more Destination Sustainable posts »</strong></a></em></div>
<p>Find out <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sponsor-posts">more about Sponsor Posts.</a></p>

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Game-Changing Satellite Shows Flood Area That Everyone Was Missing

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Here's why people with this kind of job are most likely to marry each other

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