Technically Speaking

By Nancy Mann Jackson Twenty-five years ago, the National Geographic Society’s Geography Education Program launched Geography Awareness Week (GA Week), an awareness program focused on highlighting the importance of geo-literacy and geo-education. GA Week is celebrated every third week of November with educational programs, activities and celebrations around the world. Increasingly, geography professionals have gotten involved in GA Week activities, volunteering their time to help produce activities, make presentations at local schools, and otherwise share their expertise with their communities. Professionals who give their time during GA Week say they find it gratifying to share their expertise with the public, educate their communities about the important discipline of geography, and spark the interest of future geographers.

Recently, a new message and stronger direction have emerged from our friends at Symantec concerning the cloud.

As expectation grows for the AEC industry to be more eco-friendly while satisfying government regulations, developers are now considering infiltration as part of their stormwater system. Stormwater Infiltration is currently part of a sub divisional ordinance in Pennsylvania which requires developers to explain why they are using traditional retention bases opposed to stormwater infiltration.

By Nancy Mann Jackson When a state or region experiences a major weather event such as a hurricane, blizzard or tornado, numerous agencies and organizations must work together to manage the crisis. For instance, when Hurricane Irene battered the U.S. East Coast in August 2011, thousands of workers were called into action, including fire and rescue personnel, utility workers, public health officials and workers at all levels of state and local government. Typically, each of these groups maintains its own geographical data, tracking a storm, flood or other disaster, and working in a silo to ensure its own portion of the rescue and recovery is completed.

When you need directions to a location, where do you go to find them? If you’re like most people, you go to Google Maps. It’s the most popular mapping application in the world. Its companion application, Google Earth, has been downloaded more than 950 million times. But these familiar tools aren’t just for personal use. They’re also being used in crisis response situations, helping city and county governments to make critical information accessible to their response teams and to the public. Google Maps Engine, formerly known as Google Earth Builder, is a combination of Google Maps, Google Earth and other tools organized to help government organizations streamline emergency management processes.

Last year’s east coast earthquake was a first for many – including myself. Many are questioning whether or not the eastern seaboard will continue to experience earthquakes in the near future.