PERSPECTIVES

What is the role of GIS and GPS in renewable energy development?

 This column is sponsored by

"GIS and GPS have a significant role in supporting the development and expansion of the renewable energy sector involving biomass, geothermal, solar, wind and hydro/wave types. The most obvious applications involve site location but other applications extend to meteorological forecasting, spatial/network analysis, geospatial modeling, facilities management and economic analysis-forecasting."

Jeff Thurston, Editor, EMEA and Russia, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  

"When it comes to renewable energy, the contribution of geospatial technologies is essential. Renewable energies derive power from earth systems, and GIS coupled with GPS is uniquely positioned to analyze and monitor these processes to make certain that renewable power generation sites are optimally sited, and that the power that is generated is delivered efficiently."

Matt Ball, Editor, Americas/Asia-Pacific, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

TOP STORIES

FEATURES

TOP FIVE LINKS OF THE WEEK

 
Jeff's Top Five Links of the Week

4)' ESRI Conservation Program - Native American, First Nation, and Indigenous groups using computers and GIS.

5) Light Rail Transit Association - Information and campaigning about better public transport through trams, tramways, streetcars and light rail transit systems.

Matt's Top Five Links of the Week

1)Environment Now -- Has a  mission is to be an active leader in creating measurably effective environmental programs to protect and restore California's environment.

2) Ecojustice Education -- An approach that analyzes the increasing destruction of the world’s diverse ecosystems, languages and cultures by the globalizing and ethnocentric forces of Western consumer

3) International Society for Ecology and Culture -- A  non-profit organisation concerned with the protection of both biological and cultural diversity.

4) International Forum on Globalization -- A research and education institution that provides analysis on cultural, social, policital and envrionmental impacts of economic globalization.

5) Pickens Plan -- A design to end America's dependence on foreign oil.

Reader´s Links of the Week

Submit suggested links to anything you would like to recommend that fellow readers do, see or read via e-mail to mailto: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Play REXplorer@Regensburg - A pervasive game for the exploration of the ancient city Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany.

INTERVIEW

ESRI Outlines Technology Development Plans

ESRI is leading GIS software vendor and the vision and life’s work of Jack Dangermond. V1 editor Matt Ball sat down with Dangermond at the American Planning Association (APA) meeting in Las Vegas, where he gave a keynote address on, “Creating Our Future: The Geographic Perspective.” This is the second of a two-part interview that deals with the technology development plans of the company.

COLUMN

Breaking the Accuracy Mold

Imagine a scenario in which street centerlines are stored in a GIS database with an accuracy of ±5 feet.  In the same database, parcel data are stored with an accuracy of ±0.10 feet.  And what if environmental data are stored at ±50 feet? Is that doable? As a matter of fact, presently this scenario is more the rule than the exception. 

HEADLINE NEWS

CALENDAR

• Report Touts Environmental Benefits of Smart Grids
• Feds Reject University Role to Monitor Border Fence's Environmental Impact
• Mapping Program Could Help Cities Overcome Drought
• Cherokee Report Highlights Investments in Sustainability
• Cut in Regional Infrastructure will Hinder Economic Recovery
• Chinese President Unveils Four-Point Proposal to Boost World Economy
• Cheney Blocked Testimony on Public Health Dangers of Global Warming
• UN Environment Chief Says G8 Deal is Inadequate
• New Model Helps Answer Question About Future Storm Intensity
• EPA names Clemson a Center of Excellence for Watershed Management
• Emerging Market Infrastructure Spending Will Surge 80% in the Next Three Years
• G-8 Grapples with Global Warming
• Family Farm Vies for Australian Sustainable Industries Award
• International Seminar Planned on Environmental Aspects of Dredging
• Pennsylvania Boosts Funding for Alternative Energy and Infrastructure
• Governments Commit $189M to Infrastructure for Saskatchewan Municipalities
• Learning Lessons from the Pitt Report?
• German Test Facility to Start CO2 Sequestration

EVENT

TOP 5 BLOG POSTS OF THE WEEK 

VECTOR ONE

SPATIAL SUSTAIN 

1. Geoinformatics Forum / agit 2008 in Salzburg
2. New City to be Built in Dubai
3. Bentley / Autodesk: Roll Up Sleeves and Look to Future Work 
4. Toronto: City of the Future or the 1950’s?
5. Germany: Daily Wind Power, Maps - Charts

1. Jack Dangermond Discusses R&D Priorities
2. Groundshaking Interoperability News Spurred by Move to BIM
3. ASLA Focuses on Green Infrastructure
4. The Pickens Plan
5. NASA's New Thermal Imaging Sensor Maps California Fires
   

BOOKSTORE

Spatial Data Analysis (2003)

By Robert Haining

This comprehensive overview of the subject  is written for students and researchers in geography, economics, social science, the environmental sciences and statistics.

The Clean Tech Revolution (2007)

  By Ron Pernick and Clint Wilder

Although technologies such as solar and wind power, plant-based fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel, and "green" buildings have become hip because of environmental awareness and global climate change, the real reason behind their increasing profile is economics.

Justice, Nature and the Geography of Difference  (1997)

By David Harvey

Harvey presents an excellent review of the concept of justice (both social and environmental) and its survival in postmodern context.