Geo-Opportunities in Environment & Sustainability (Or, the Purpose of Life)

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A slightly off-beat and provocative talk about great opportunities for geo-professionals in the face of global challenges.

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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

Thank you.Thierry.Gregorius@Landmark.co.uk

www.twitter.com/Thierry_G

What do YOU

think?

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