Feature

Hammering Out Our Differences

“We have not met, yet I feel I know you well enough to call you friend.” So begins the letter to a Southern Baptist pastor that E.O. Wilson weaves into a riveting account of the peril posed by the extinction of life in The Creation: An Appeal To Save Planet Earth.

Paul Racette, posted on March 3rd, 2008
In This Issue, Reviews

Big Years for the Heliosphere

Three interlocking international science years – International Polar Year, International Heliospherical Year, and the Electronic Geophysical Year – are inspiring intense global collaboration and coordinated investment. Earthzine takes a close look at one of its core programs, Heliosphere Impact on Geospace, thatís spinning out a blizzard of new data on Earth’s geomagnetic phenomena.

Peter Fairley, posted on February 25th, 2008
Articles, Earth Observation, In This Issue, Technology

Straight Talk on Climate Communication and Earth Observation: A conversation with Dr. Jerry Mahlman

An expert on the behavior of the upper atmosphere, Mahlman led the development of one of the first global climate models, for which he received the American Geophysical Union’s Carl-Gustav Rossby Medal, its highest honor. Mahlman chaired the Earth System Science and Applications Advisory Committee for NASA’s Mission to Planet Earth program in the 1990s and was involved in the founding of the IPCC; He created the so-called betting odds scheme used by IPCC to evaluate uncertainty and was a reviewer of the Working Group I report for IPCC’s 2007 assessment.

Peter Fairley, posted on January 21st, 2008
Climate, Featured Person, People

Engineering for Humanity

Engineering and humanity? Some might say that the two words don’t belong in the same sentence. Many outside the engineering profession do not think of engineering as a “caring” profession dedicated to creating positive effect for society and the global environment. What’s happening between the IEEE and the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) is showing how the commitment of engineers can be directed toward improving our lives and those of our children and future generations. IEEE members around the globe are using their skills to support GEO’s development of the Global Earth Observation System of Systems, or GEOSS. In doing so, they are tying engineering to basic needs of humankind – food, water, shelter, and security.

Leah Jamieson, posted on November 24th, 2007
In This Issue, OpEd

A Look Back at Fifty Years of the Space Age

The noted British astronomer Fred Hoyle predicted shortly after the launch of Sputnik in October, 1957 that when we humans could obtain a picture of Earth from deep space, life here would never be the same. This was a time in history when the average Westerner’s concept of the universe was hardly more sophisticated than “God in the heavens, man in the middle and everything else below.” That is to say that only a very few scientists had foresight as to the extent and complexity of the cosmos that would be revealed following the arrival of the space age and its modern technologies.

Edgar D. Mitchell, Sc.D., posted on October 29th, 2007
Articles, Earth Observation, In This Issue

An Architect of “The System of Systems”

The hat collection overtaking his corner office two blocks from the White House says much of Conrad Lautenbacher’s interests. The caps are mementos of a decorated 40-year Navy career and also from his current job, where part of it is running oceanographic and fisheries vessels, including underwater robots.

John Adam, posted on October 24th, 2007
In This Issue, People

Welcome to Earthzine!

Welcome to Earthzine and thank you for visiting our site. It’s my pleasure to introduce and describe to you this new on-line magazine and invite you to join our on-line community of Earth observers. Earthzine.org is a premier on-line resource for news, articles, information and educational materials about Earth Science, Earth observations and users of Earth information. Earthzine.org is a contribution of the IEEE Committee on Earth Observation in support of the Global Earth Observing System of Systems (GEOSS).

Paul Racette, posted on September 30th, 2007
In This Issue, OpEd

“The World is Flat”? by Thomas L. Friedman

Book Review by Albin J. Gasiewski

When it was suggested to me by Cleon Anderson, the 2005 President of the IEEE, to read “The World is Flat” by Thomas Friedman, my initial reaction was to think that I had already heard all that I needed to know about globalization. Fortunately, my curiosity and Cleon’s insistence got the better of me, and I bought the book at the outset of a trip from Denver to New Delhi.

Paul Racette, posted on July 31st, 2007
In This Issue, Reviews

Geoscience and Traditional Knowledge: An Interview with Dr. Daniel Wildcat

Dr. Daniel Wildcat, a Euchee member of the Muscogee Nation of Oklahoma, is a faculty member in the School of American Indian Studies at the Haskell Indian Nations University where he has taught since 1986. His doctorate is in public administration and social science and provides basis for his keen interest in the social implications of climate change. Dr. Wildcat is co-founder of the Haskell Environmental Research Studies Center at Haskell.

Paul Racette, posted on July 31st, 2007
In This Issue, People