geo-opportunities in environment & sustainability (or, the purpose of life)
DESCRIPTION
A slightly off-beat and provocative talk about great opportunities for geo-professionals in the face of global challenges.TRANSCRIPT
Thierry GregoriusCoventry, 25 March 2010
The Earth
People live on it
You are here
People need… Energy
Water
Food
Shelter
Air Land
Global challenges ‘Peak Oil’
Water security Population
growth
Climate changeLand
degradation
Food security
Yes.
Are we all doomed?
The Sun, 5 billion years from now.
Everything is relative
The purpose of life?
Scotland Feb. 2010
Example: GPS.X-times more productive than classic survey technology.
What do we do?
X-times more work? X-times more leisure?
Global challenges ‘Peak Oil’
Water security Population
growth
Climate changeLand
degradation
Food security
So what’s the point?
http://twitpic.com/wwp3d
“SUSTAIN
ABILITY”
The road to the future… etc… etc…
Sustainability n. The capacity to endure.
“Sustainability has become a wide-ranging term that can be applied to almost every facet of life on Earth.”
Wikipedia
Is it a B-word ? Buzz ?Bull ?
Bingo ?
“interdisciplinary”
“natural resources”
“energy”
“climate change”
“socio-economic”
“environment”
“poverty”
“food”
“water”
“transport”
etc…
“development”
“land”
In other words…?
Old skills…
… new jacket?
� Climate Change
� Water Security
� Food Security
� Population Growth
� Peak Oil
� Land degradation
Re-cap…
� Climate Change Flood risk modelling
� Water Security Geology, Utility management
� Food Security Land use management
� Population Growth Urban & transport planning
� Peak Oil Exploration survey
� Land degradation Brownfield remediation
e.g.
Geo-skills
� Climate Change Flood risk modelling Height data
� Water Security Geology, Utility management Real-time data?
� Food Security Land use management Remote sensing
� Population Growth Urban & transport planning 3D city models
� Peak Oil Exploration survey Topo
� Land degradation Brownfield remediation 2D - 4D mapping
e.g. e.g.
Geo-dataGeo-skills
$ustaina£ility…
Of all places!
“We used our experience with oil and gas platforms to
design [the offshore windpark] to withstand North Sea
conditions.”
Egmond-aan-Zee, Netherlands
Oil exploration survey, Libya 2007
Same skills, new purpose
The new oil?
So what’s in our geo-toolbox?
Sensors…
New:
Consumer
Data (commercial)
Data (government)
3,000 free datasets released Jan. 2010
Data (government-commercial)
‘Crowdsourcing’ – users create data
www.OpalExploreNature.org
www.OpenStreetMap.org
Exeter, July 2007 Exeter, July 2008
Basically: A shedload of data…
Data ‘off the Web’
� Instant access
� Free at point of use
� Fast innovation
� One size fits all, unknown quality
� IPR & commercial re-use issues
Commercial & paid-for gov data
� Comprehensive and/or authoritative
� Known or premium quality
� Targeted end user focus (specialised)
� Greater turnaround time
� Greater cost, but incidental to value
blurringboundaries…
Looking at data in new ways
� Upside-down Google maps � Real-time data: The ‘Sensor Web’
A glimpse of the future
� New tech: Mobile, 3D, Augmented Reality
• Still early/niche but for how long?
• TED Bing Maps demo: check it out http://www.ted.com/talks/blaise_aguera.html
3D – many false dawns, but it is comingMobile – crowdsourcing, augmented reality
What does this bring?
� Greater user participation
� Increased choice & competition
� A growing & more complex world
� More sophisticated user demands
� A free for all culture?
But also:
� More legal test cases & legislation: privacy, copyright
More user choice
Emerging alternatives to Ordnance Survey large-scale mapping…
UKMapTM by The GeoInformation Group
Also in the professional market
More user choice
New ways of data collection e.g. crowdsourcing by professionals
Also in the professional market
People’s MapTM by Getmapping et al
How much data is on the internet?
“500 billion gigabytes”
Legislation
� Climate Change Act 2008
� Environmental Liability Directive 2009
� Carbon Reduction Efficiency Scheme 2010
� Flood and Water Management Bill 2010
� Etc…
…requiring more data, and more quality data
e.g. uninsurable risks
• a flood of sensors• a flood of data• a flood of users• a flood of uses• a flood of legislation
• new web & geo-technologies• user participation: people power• more sophisticated user demands
• a more complex world• the global challenges
Summary
• a flood of sensors• a flood of data• a flood of users• a flood of uses• a flood of legislation
• new web & geo-technologies• user participation: people power• more sophisticated user demands
• a more complex world• the global challenges
a greater need for expertise & dataResul
ting in…
Lots of geo-opportunities
Lots of fun
