Earth Vision Institute

What Earth Vision Institute does

Earth Vision Institute (EVI) is a private, donor-funded nonprofit founded in 2012 by photographer James Balog and headquartered in Boulder, Colorado. It integrates art and science to document environmental change, anchored by the Extreme Ice Survey (EIS) — a network of 72 custom-engineered time-lapse cameras, built to operate at temperatures as low as -40°F/-40°C and powered by photovoltaic panels, deployed since 2007 across glaciers in Alaska, Greenland, Iceland, Montana, Nepal (Mount Everest), Antarctica, South Georgia, and Austria. Cameras capture a frame every 30 minutes during daylight, producing a 1.5 million frame longitudinal archive stored at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) and curated as a research affiliate of the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR) at the University of Colorado Boulder.

EVI monetizes through a diversified, content-led model: donor funding; book royalties via publishers including Rizzoli International, National Geographic, and Sterling; and film licensing or rental on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, and Vimeo, with educator and group screening rights. It serves three primary segments — general public and environmental awareness consumers reached through documentary films and photography books; middle and high school educators using free NGSS-aligned lesson plans paired with The Human Element; and the scientific community accessing the EIS archive. The flagship 2024 release of Chasing Time (the Chasing Ice sequel) and the 2024 launch of the Extreme Ice Survey Iceland (EISI) citizen science program — a 100+ year initiative with bronze monuments at Icelandic glacier overlooks and AI-assisted archive management via the Icelandic Meteorological Office — extend the organization's mission-driven footprint rather than its commercial scale.

Name

Earth Vision Institute

Legal name

Earth Vision Institute

Website

https://earthvisioninstitute.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Earth Vision Institute is a Boulder, Colorado-based nonprofit founded in 2012 by photographer James Balog that uses art and science to document environmental change. It operates the Extreme Ice Survey's 72-camera time-lapse glacier network and distributes films, books, and free curriculum to public, educational, and scientific audiences.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Documentary Media

NAICS

Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services (541360), Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services (54136)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEUAHAKAD

Remote Sensing & Earth Observation Analytics (Satellite/UAV/LiDAR, Image Processing)

Energy, Utilities & Environment/Environmental Compliance, Monitoring & Consulting/Environmental Data Management, Modeling & GIS/Remote Sensing

SECONDARYTHAAAOAJ

Environmental Interpretation & Ranger-Led Education Programs (Visitor Education)

Travel & Hospitality/Adventure, Amusement Parks & Ecotourism/Educational Adventure Programs (Outdoor Education, Skill Development)

SECONDARYEUAHAHAE

Biodiversity Baseline Studies & Long-Term Monitoring Programs

Energy, Utilities & Environment/Environmental Compliance, Monitoring & Consulting/Ecology, Biodiversity & Natural Resource Assessments

SECONDARYEUAHAHAA

Terrestrial Ecology & Habitat Surveys

Energy, Utilities & Environment/Environmental Compliance, Monitoring & Consulting/Ecology, Biodiversity & Natural Resource Assessments

Keywords

• Environmental photography
• Climate documentary
• Glacier monitoring
• Citizen science programs
• Environmental education

Headquarters

HQ city

Boulder

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel

Revenue model

1. Donor Funding: EVI is a donor-funded organization that relies on charitable contributions from individuals and foundations to support its climate change awareness mission and Extreme Ice Survey operations.
2. Book Sales: James Balog's photography books published through Rizzoli International, Sterling, National Geographic, and other publishers. Books include The Human Element (2021), Ice: Portraits of Vanishing Glaciers (2012), and other titles sold through independent bookstores and online retailers.
3. Film Licensing and Screenings: Documentary films (Chasing Ice, The Human Element, Chasing Time) licensed for home and group screenings with educator discounts, and available for purchase or rental on Amazon Prime and Apple TV.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Earth Vision Institute produces environmental photography, documentary films, photography books, and educational curriculum documenting climate change and environmental transformation. Its flagship project, the Extreme Ice Survey, deploys a network of time-lapse cameras across glaciers worldwide to create a multi-decade visual archive of glacial retreat and ecological change.

Product overview

Earth Vision Institute is a nonprofit environmental photography organization founded by James Balog in 2012 that integrates art and science to reveal environmental change. The organization operates as a portfolio of interconnected projects rather than a unified software platform. Its flagship initiative is the Extreme Ice Survey (EIS), a research affiliate of the University of Colorado's Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, which deploys time-lapse cameras to document glacier retreat. This core project is supported by documentary films (Chasing Ice, Chasing Time, The Human Element, Message in a Bottle), published books spanning James Balog's career from 1984 to 2021, and themed photo galleries documenting Natural Tectonics, Human Tectonics, Wildlife, Trees, Techno Sapiens, and environmental portraits. The organization also produces educational materials including lesson plans aligned with NGSS standards for classroom use. A newer initiative, Extreme Ice Survey Iceland (EISI), employs citizen scientists to document Icelandic glaciers over a 100+ year timeline.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Extreme Ice Survey (EIS) A research project combining single-frame photography and a network of time-lapse cameras deployed across alpine, Arctic, and Antarctic regions to document glacier retreat and climate change impacts; the visual archive is stored at the National Snow and Ice Data Center.
• Chasing Ice 2012 award-winning documentary about photographer James Balog and the Extreme Ice Survey findings on glacier melting; won an Emmy, a Sundance Film Festival cinematography award, and was nominated for an Academy Award.
• Chasing Time 2024 documentary sequel documenting the final mission closing out the Extreme Ice Survey project after an unprecedented 15-year photographic record of melting glaciers.
• The Human Element 2018 documentary in which photographer James Balog reveals how environmental change affects everyday Americans, framed around the four classical elements (earth, air, fire, water); includes free lesson plans for educators aligned with Next Generation Science Standards.
• Message in a Bottle 2015 documentary following James Balog's journey to Mauna Loa Observatory to explore how changes in atmospheric composition affect the climate.
• Photo Galleries Online photography collections covering thematic series such as Extreme Ice Survey, Natural Tectonics, Human Tectonics, Wildlife Requiem, Survivors (endangered animals and trees), Techno Sapiens, and To the Children, accessible through earthvisioninstitute.org.
• The Human Element: A Time Capsule from the Anthropocene 2021 photographic book (Rizzoli International) presenting James Balog's visual documentation of the Anthropocene — catastrophic wildfires, melting glaciers, floods, animal extinction, and deforestation — across 465 pages and 350 images.
• Ice: Portraits of Vanishing Glaciers 2012 large-format photographic book documenting glacier loss and climate change impacts across Greenland, Iceland, the Himalaya, and Alaska.
• Extreme Ice Now: Vanishing Glaciers and Changing Climate 2009 National Geographic publication documenting the Extreme Ice Survey through still and time-lapse photography to reveal climate change impacts on glaciers.
• Extreme Ice Survey Iceland (EISI) Long-term citizen science initiative deploying bronze monuments at Icelandic glacier overlooks where visitors can contribute photographs to a permanent climate archive, designed to operate for 100+ years with the Icelandic Meteorological Office.
• The Human Element Lesson Plans Free educational curriculum materials for middle and high school students accompanying The Human Element documentary, aligned with Next Generation Science Standards; includes a full film lesson, four elemental chapter lessons, and a culminating activity.

Quantifiable outcome

• 150 million+ people globally impacted by EIS imagery
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and major.

• Icelandic Meteorological OfficecoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2023EISI (Extreme Ice Survey Iceland) collaboration with Icelandic Meteorological Office to store citizen science images in a central database, with AI being developed to facilitate archive management.
• Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado BouldercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012Extreme Ice Survey is a research affiliate of INSTAAR at University of Colorado Boulder. James Balog completed master's degree in geomorphology at INSTAAR. Academic collaboration provides scientific rigor and institutional credibility to EIS.
• Exposure LabsflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012Exposure Labs produced the award-winning documentary Chasing Ice (2012) and the 2024 sequel Chasing Time. Partnership with EVI founder James Balog brought EIS imagery to global audiences through film.
• Key Academic Advisors (Jason Box, W.T. Pfeffer, Alberto Behar, Dan Fagre, Eran Hood, Konrad Steffen, James White)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012Scientists from Ohio State University, University of Colorado, and other institutions were important allies in development and funding of the Extreme Ice Survey project, providing scientific expertise and credibility.
• PBS/NOVAmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 20092009 PBS/NOVA special 'Extreme Ice' featured the Extreme Ice Survey, bringing time-lapse glacier documentation to public television audiences.
• National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2007EIS visual archive of 1.5 million time-lapse frames stored at NSIDC in Boulder, Colorado. NSIDC provides long-term preservation and accessibility of the Extreme Ice Survey photographic documentation of glacial changes.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• GlacierHub: Columbia University-based online platform covering glacier news and research. Comparable as a glacier-focused content and education outlet, though narrower in scope (no field instrumentation) than EVI's photographic time-lapse network.

Broad incumbents

• PBS NOVA: Public broadcaster of long-form science documentary. Aired the 2009 special 'Extreme Ice' featuring EIS, making it a direct distribution partner and content comparator in climate/science documentary.
• World Wildlife Fund: Large environmental NGO active in conservation communications, donor fundraising, and educational outreach. Comparable in donor-funded nonprofit model and environmental education mission, though vastly larger and broader in scope.
• Ocean Conservancy: Ocean-focused environmental nonprofit producing reports, photo-driven advocacy, and educational content. Comparable in donor-funded advocacy with visual storytelling, but focused on marine rather than cryosphere issues.
• National Geographic Society: Large established environmental documentary and photography publisher. EVI's founder James Balog has multiple National Geographic covers and the organizations collaborate on books and features - directly comparable in environmental visual storytelling, but NatGeo operates at vastly larger scale across many domains.

Direct peers

• Climate Central: Nonprofit climate change communications and visual evidence organization producing images, video, and educational content for journalists and educators. Closely comparable mission of translating climate science into public-facing visuals.
• Woodwell Climate Research Center: Climate science research nonprofit producing field data and visual documentation of climate impacts. Comparable in operating model (research-driven nonprofit producing public-facing evidence) and adjacent in subject matter (cryosphere, climate impacts).
• Exposure Labs: Impact documentary production company that produced EVI's Chasing Ice (2012) and Chasing Time (2024). Operates in the same climate-impact documentary niche, serving similar audiences through streaming and educational distribution.
• 350.org: Climate change-focused nonprofit combining advocacy, media, and grassroots mobilization. Overlaps with EVI on climate awareness mission, donor-funded model, and use of visual storytelling for movement-building.

Regional players

• CIRES / University of Colorado Boulder: Co-located research institute at CU Boulder, adjacent to EVI through the INSTAAR affiliate relationship and the NSIDC archival partnership. Comparable as a climate data producer in the same geographic and institutional ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/earthvisioninstitute
• Instagraminstagram.com/earthvisioninstitute
• Xx.com/earthvisioninst

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Earth Vision Institute