Blue Marble Imagery

From Ken-ichi. Download and use the 250m True Marble global dataset for free from Unearthed Outdoors. The imagery is licensed under a Creative Commons license. Which is another thing I just learned about from Ken-ichi, and has already been useful in making SNAMP newsletters.

GPS on walkers

I saw this on Engadget today: GPS-equipped walkers. They should add some video games onto that screen too. Really.

Bad News

For anyone researching the effects of human-induced global warming, you've been wasting your time. At least that's what the attendees of this conference are claiming.

Berkeley/Penn Urban and Environmental Modeler’s Datakit

Looking for GIS data for the U.S.? The Berkeley/Penn Urban and Environmental Modeler's Datakit has just been released. The site contains more than 150 downloadable ArcMap-ready shapefiles and raster datasets for the 48 contiguous United States.

The data were produced at the Institute of Urban and Regional Development (IURD) at the University of California, Berkeley and the Penn Institute of Urban Research (Penn IUR) at the University of Pennsylvania, in cooperation with Penn's Cartographic Modeling Lab (CML).

The data is free, and all interested urban and environmental planners, analysts, modelers and enthusiasts are encouraged to utilize the site to further narrow traditional disciplinary gaps between urban and environmental planning researchers/practitioners. It claims to be the first site to bring together spatially comprehensive and comparable urban and environmental GIS data.

Users who uncover problems (other than the fact that "Modeler" is mis-spelled on the title banner) or might wish to add their own national data to the website should e-mail John Landis at jlan@design.upenn.edu.

Mashup challenge

The Official Google Maps API blog recently featured this post about NetSquared's mashup challenge. Non-profits can post their mashup dreams and then project managers and developers at NetSquared pick projects to offer assistance. You can explore the proposals thus far at the their project gallery.

New ESRI office in Sacto…

ESRI is pleased to offer a variety of instructor-led training courses to explain GIS concepts, explore GIS Applications, and teach you to use ESRI software to meet your specific needs. Below is a list of upcoming courses in Sacramento, California.  For more information or to register for a class, please click on the class name or visit www.esri.com/training . For other training questions, please contact your Training Coordinator at kmanorek@esri.com .

Sacramento, California Classes

March 10 – 11 – Data Management in the Multiuser Geodatabase

This course prepares GIS and database administrators to implement an ArcSDE geodatabase by teaching how to load and manage ArcSDE data. The course presents concepts applicable to both workgroup and enterprise ArcSDE geodatabases but focuses primarily on the enterprise ArcSDE geodatabase. Students learn the basic architecture of a multiuser geodatabase and are introduced to ArcSDE connection types. The course focuses on loading and managing vector and raster data and emphasizes best practices for interacting with a multiuser geodatabase. Students explore multiuser geodatabase design strategies and editing options for data stored in a multiuser geodatabase, including versioning. This course is designed for GIS and database administrators who want to implement a workgroup or enterprise ArcSDE geodatabase.

March 12 – 14 – ArcGIS Server Enterprise Configuration and Tuning for SQL Server

This course prepares Microsoft^® SQL Server^® database administrators to implement an enterprise geodatabase by teaching how to set up an individual ArcSDE server. Students get familiar with the ArcSDE architecture and learn how to configure SQL Server to support ArcSDE, install and configure ArcSDE, and identify and troubleshoot connection types and issues. The course emphasizes the importance of managing storage settings for loading vector and raster data and teaches techniques for maintaining geodatabase performance in an editing environment. Additionally, the course explains how ArcSDE interacts with SQL Server databases and presents solid strategies for maintaining and managing an enterprise geodatabase. This course is designed for experienced SQL Server database administrators who need to understand how to install and configure an enterprise geodatabase.

Citizen Science Toolkit

From the Cornell group: Citizen Science Toolkit.. a resource for anyone designing or supporting volunteer-based research initiatives. Haven't used or evaluated this, but it looks relevant.

U.S. Ends Protections for Wolves in 3 States

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/22/us/22wolves.html?th&emc=th

Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI)

In addition to the volunteer computing, distributed thinking, and coordinated activities that David Anderson discussed at the Feb. 8th Geolunch, Volunteered Geographic Information is a growing form of "Citizen Cyber-Science." OpenStreetMap and Wikimapia are the most well-known examples of VGI, an emerging process in which citizens voluntarily create and combine spatial data for maps and mash-ups. I went to a talk last week by Rutgers Professor David Tulloch. He gave an overview of an interesting VGI site that was developed to let citizens help map vernal pools in New Jersey. Examples of other VGI projects and presentations on the ethics, reliability, and potential of VGI can be found on the Workshop on VGI site which includes info collected from an event held at UCSB last December. Also of interest is a site that provides the information presented at a Workshop on Agent-Based Modeling of Complex Spatial Systems. The talk was hosted by the Cal's Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, which will be hosting upcoming events on topics such as the SF green spaces, National Parks, and EU ecological policies .

Are you connected to mountaintop mining?

Living in California, the issue of mountaintop mining seems pretty far away, but entering your zip code into this website: http://www.ilovemountains.org/myconnection/ makes the connection pretty clear. I really love the simplicity of this site -- the locations of mines and mining facilities, and clear lines drawn to show how we in Berkeley are connected to mining activities in Virginia. I also love that they give you a very clear action to take using the question "Wanna break your connection?" This same basic approach could be used for so many issues. It's almost like by drawing lines between places that seem removed from each other, they seem closer together.