A considerable body of knowledge has accumulated over the past decade or so about the relationships between environment and disease, yet far more information and resources are needed if we are to develop effective early warning systems through environmental surveillance and modeling as well as appropriate emergency response. In the United States, we face a crisis in funding that not only affects basic and applied research in this field but also undermines our ability to deploy remote sensing technologies that provide the most promising means for monitoring our environment. Using examples of waterborne and vectorborne disease, we will discuss how remote sensing technology can be used for disease prediction. We will then examine the lessons learned from these examples and provide recommendations for future modeling. 