Group items tagged

"Merlin will be a new kind of bird identification tool-one that combines artificial intelligence with input from real-life bird watchers to produce an online "wizard" that helps people ID birds quickly and connects them to more information. To build Merlin, we need to know how thousands of people remember and describe birds. You can help us by playing games that gather the information to help Merlin understand what bird watchers see. The more you play, the more you'll help Merlin become a true bird ID wizard."

This interactive world map allows users to learn about tree cover loss over time, along with some success stories from around the world. This "dynamic online forest monitoring and alert system that empowers people everywhere to better manage forests." After first agreeing to terms of use, visitors to the site can navigate to the Map tab to use a sophisticated set of tools that track tree cover loss and gain from 2000 to the present. The Stories area highlights people who are working to conserve and enhance existing forested areas from Ecuador to Egypt.

"First World Problems read by Third World People" is by the non-profit "Water is Life" to ironically focus on the REALLY-CRITICAL issue of clean water. They enlisted Haitian children and adults to read the everyday gripes and minor irritations that first world citizens post on Twitter."

journalist Fred Pearce reports on how the rapid spread of community-based, digital mapping is helping indigenous groups worldwide to claim ownership of their lands and protect them from logging and other outside development. From the Congo, to Guyana, to the Australian outback, local communities are increasingly using GPS technology and Google Earth to document their traditional forests, hunting areas, burial grounds, and important cultural sites. As Pearce writes, the aim is to produce maps that governments cannot ignore and that can assist local people in saving their homelands

"Preventing the extinction of the world's most imperiled species would also bring untold benefits to people according to new research"

"Young Voices for the Planet is a film series featuring young people who are making a difference! They are shrinking the carbon footprint of their homes, schools and communities. You, too, can do something about global warming! As Alec Loorz says, "Kids Have Power.""

"Over the past few generations, conservation groups have spent billions of dollars on scientific research, land purchase, policy change and education to address these threats. But one question that has received little attention is: How do we get people to change their behavior? What really works?"

"Let kids discover things on their own. Let them solve problems. One way to do this is ask questions about maps. But not just regular, turn to page 47 in your geography textbook kind of maps. But, you know, cool maps. So here ya go. A world map using only the locations of the world's runways, helicopter pads and airports." What questions can you ask? How about: Where are the developing countries? How do you know? Does location make a difference in who has access to knowledge? Does this matter? How does access to electricity impact how people live?

By Olivia Boulder, a 15-yr-old environmental activist who became well known 5 yrs ago when she offered her bird paintings in return for donations to help birds affected by the BP oil spill. 1. Kids (or anyone for that matter) can do a LOT. 2. The planet needs our help. 3. Politicians (and the people they represent) dislike change. 4. Art creates change. 5. Birds continue to amaze me!

A National Ocean Service Education lesson developed following the Exxon Valdez spill. This lesson focuses on the aftermath of an oil spill, its effects on the people and ecosystems, lessons learned, and what recovery means. It also includes links to an Oil Spill Trajectory Model, an Oil Spill Primer for Students, and How Toxic is Oil?

"The dynamic nature of the BP oil spill has been a challenge for a range of communities - from hotel operators to fishermen to local community leaders. We know the American people have questions about how the federal government is responding to this crisis, and we are committed to providing the answers with clarity and transparency. The site you're viewing right now is a symbol of that commitment. "

"OpenStreetMap is a free editable map of the whole world. It is made by people like you. OpenStreetMap allows you to view, edit and use geographical data in a collaborative way from anywhere on Earth. "

"Young Voices on Climate Change is a series of short films featuring young people using science and data to reduce the carbon footprint of their homes, schools, communities, and states. "

"GLOBE at Night is an annual citizen-science campaign that encourages people all over the world to record the brightness of their night sky. For two weeks every March, when the Moon is not out during the early evening and the constellation of Orion can be seen by everyone everywhere, children and adults match the appearance of Orion with 7 star maps of progressively fainter stars found on the website, www.globeatnight.org. They then submit their measurements (e.g., which star map they chose) on-line with their date, time and location."

Community mapping, a form of citizen science whereby local people participate in geographically defining an area, is increasingly taking on greater significance--especially during times of emergency and natural disaster. Director of the University of California, Santa Barbara's Center for Spatial Studies Michael Goodchild discusses "From Community Mapping to Critical Spatial Thinking: The Changing Face of GIS"

"SlashGeo posts on the June 2nd announcement by National Academies Press that all their PDF book titles are now freely available for download, or for online reading. National Academies Press is the publishing arm of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council. A search using geography-related terms (e.g. GIS, GPS, geography, maps, cartography, etc.) will bring up long lists of titles. They're a bit of a mixed bag, though - most of them are more along the lines of committee reports, executive summaries, available resources and project planning than they are of more practical applications. Still, worth a look, especially at the price ;-). For many of them, you can also buy hard copies, and even embed a widget for them onto your website to allow people direct access to the book. "

This report provides a new approach to examining the links between ecosystem services (the benefits derived from nature) and the poor. Through a series of maps and analyses, the authors focus on the environmental resources most Kenyans rely on such as soil, water, forest, rangeland, livestock, and wildlife. The atlas overlays georeferenced statistical information on population and household expenditures with spatial data on ecosystems and their services (water availability, wood supply, wildlife populations, and the like) to yield a picture of how land, people, and prosperity are related in Kenya.

With deforestation, global warming and climate change the new buzz words on everyone's lips, more and more people want to know: Where's the beef from? Knowing what's in burgers and fries is no longer enough. Environmentally aware consumers want to know how the beef, chicken or vegetables got to their dinner plates. Consumers now want health and justice.

# Develop the capacity of young people in decision making and action learning around issues of global significance. # Have young people work together on innovative projects which engage them in unaccustomed forms of action that create understandiing of differences and promote conflict resolution skills between individuals and groups. # Develop inter-cultural understanding in schools and their community members. # To transform traditional schools practice by increasing global connection, meaningful use of digital media and inspiring student engagement.

Political ecologist Susanna Hecht has incurred the wrath of some conservationists by arguing that the notion of the primeval forest is largely a myth and that disturbed forests play a vital ecological function. In an interview with Yale Environment 360, she makes the case for a "new rurality" that places less emphasis on protected forests and more on the areas where people live.