This being the 40th Annual Earth Day, it seems a necessary moment to reflect on the role of geospatial technologies and perhaps crow a little bit about the commitments that geospatial technologists have made toward the better stewardship of our planet. There are many touchstone moments where earth observation and geospatial technologies have contributed to our collective awareness of our world, and the interdependencies we have as planetary citizens.
One day is a good idea I guess, but for geospatial technologists every day is about the Earth, whether it’s involved with the measurement, modeling, monitoring or management. With this day focused largely on the responsibilities that we share to do a better job for our planet, we can all do our part by telling somebody about the work that we, our colleagues, or our heroes do with this technology.
On Earth Day, it’s also a good moment to gauge our current status of tools, systems and knowledge about our planet. We’ve come a long way collecting, compiling and opening up access to our geospatial data, Earth models and simulations, but there’s also a long way to go toward realizing a seamless understanding of our world.
