Announcing the winners of our third-annual contest on the question of ÛÏHow Can Earth Observation Help Us to Build a More Sustainable World?Û After reviewing the submissions, publishing six essays, coordinating a blogging discussion, and judging the quality and level of engagement, we reveal the results.
Alex Steffen says Earth Observation is part of Worldchanging
Alex Steffen, keynote speaker at the IEEE Professional Communication Society conference at the University of Cincinnati, says small steps can result in big changes, and we need to better educate the public on scientific findings that demonstrate the need for action.
A Beautiful Earth Educates and Inspires
NASA launches the Beautiful Earth project to inspire and educate students, teachers and the public with images and videos of Earth from space, to the backdrop of music by Kenji Williams.
Putting Earth Observation Data to Work: The EuroGEOSS Broker (Max Craglia interview)
The first step in making sense of the processes and events that impact the Earth is to observe and analyze them. The next step is to share those observations and analyses with your peers in the context of a shared infrastructure. Today, however, there are dozens of such shared infrastructures, each with its own set of policies, terms and protocols. How can all this information be shared?
An Interview with Alberto Moreira, President of GRSS
Dr. Alberto Moreira, president of the IEEE Geosciences and Remote Sensing Society, has a dynamic vision for remote sensing that is now, he says, in its golden age. In this far-ranging interview, he talks about the early days of remote sensing, the field’s contributions to GEOSS, and humanity’s responsibilities to Earth.
The Challenges Of Water And Climate In Asia
Mr. Arjun Thapan is Special Senior Advisor to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) President for Infrastructure and Water. ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. In this opinion essay, he discusses Asia’s impending water crisis, exacerbated not just by the environmental consequences of economic and population growth, but now also by climate change.
A Surprising Side-Effect of Climate Change: A Fog of Confusion
Recent changes in public opinion appear contrary to the growing empirical evidence that climate change will have significant impact to human society. In their essay, Drs. Jean-Louis Fellous and Catherine Gautier describe the thickening fog of climate skepticism and put forth a remedy for clearing the air.
Judith Curry On the Credibility of Climate Research
Judith A. Curry, Ph.D. is professor and chairperson of the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Her research interests include remote sensing, climate of the polar regions, atmospheric modeling, and air/sea interactions. The Op-Ed posted here addresses her views on what has become a global controversy about climate science. Her stated aim is to stimulate constructive debate by this essay about the critical scientific research on climate, and about the roles and responsibilities of scientists. Comments are welcome on this and every Earthzine article.
And The Winners Are…
The 2009 Student Essay Competition Sustainability through Earth Observation and Engineering is pleased to announce the winners:
First Place $500 to David Tshimba, Uganda Martyrs University, Kampala, Uganda for
ÛÏBy Trying to Solve a Problem, Human Beings Have Now Created a New IssueÛ
Second Place $250 to Sulaiman Tejan Jalloh, Institute of Advanced Management and Technology, Freetown, Sierra Leone, West Africa for
Third Place $150 to Benjamin-Axel Mugema, Uganda Martyrs University, Kampala, Uganda for
SSIT President Janet Rochester Observes Earth and the Implications of Technology
Janet Rochester is a senior member of the IEEE leadership and president of the Society on Social Implications of Technology. In this interview she shines a spotlight on the range of SSIT members’ interests, and on her own intellectual considerations and concerns.