People
A Surprising Side-Effect of Climate Change: A Fog of Confusion
Recent changes in public opinion appear contrary to the growing empirical evidence that climate change will have significant impact to human society. In their essay, Drs. Jean-Louis Fellous and Catherine Gautier describe the thickening fog of climate skepticism and put forth a remedy for clearing the air.
Jean-Louis Fellous and Catherine Gautier, posted on
June 21st, 2010
Climate, Earth Observation, Feature, Featured Person, OpEd, People, Weather
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GEO needs stronger political and financial support to succeed
Dr. Roy Gibson, first Director General of the European Space Agency and the first Director General of the British National Space Centre, made a strong argument for the need of governments to give priority financial and political support to GEO and GEOSS as speaker at the GEO-IGOS Symposium in Washington DC on 19 November 2009. His adapted speech from that event and a biographical introduction are reprinted here.
Roy Gibson, posted on
February 22nd, 2010
Articles, Earth Observation, Economy, GEOSS/ICEO News, People, Politics
| 1 Comment »
Space-bound in South Africa: A Down-to-Earth Conversation With Dr. Phil Mjwara
A month after South Africa succesfully launched it’s second Earth observation satellite, Sumbandila, Earthzine contributor Peter Fairley talks with Dr. Philemon Mjwara, Director General of South Africa’s Department of Science and Technology, about the launch, the benefits South Africa expects to reap from the satellite, and what’s in store for the future of developing countries’ involvement in Earth observation and sustainability.
Peter Fairley, posted on
January 11th, 2010
Articles, Earth Observation, People, Technology
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SSIT President Janet Rochester Observes Earth and the Implications of Technology
Janet Rochester is a senior member of the IEEE leadership and president of the Society on Social Implications of Technology. In this interview she shines a spotlight on the range of SSIT members’ interests, and on her own intellectual considerations and concerns.
Maeve Hickok, posted on
November 9th, 2009
Climate, Earth Observation, Featured Person, People, Politics, Technology
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Kuruom vidyalaya: the Power of One in a Billion
In Korown, an Uttar Pradesh India farming village where little has changed for hundreds of years, a 21st century school opened its doors for the first time in July to 100 girls and boys in grades 1-4, 6, and 7. Kuruom vidyalaya is the bricks-and-mortar embodiment of the Hindu goddess Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge, and testimony to one man’s spirit and commitment. That man is Bal Ram Singh, Ph.D., 51, once a child of the village and now a successful biophysical chemist at a U.S. university (University of Massachusetts Dartmouth) and director of its Center for Indic Studies, who built the school himself without government assistance. Deeply engaged as a Hindu, a family man, a professor, research scientist, and a U.S. citizen, he is also determined to prove that “one little man” can change the status-quo in India for the better.
Maeve Hickok, posted on
August 26th, 2009
Economy, Education, Featured Person, Millennium Development Goals, People
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La Vie de Josiane Zerubia: A Very Modern Woman of Science
Josiane Zerubia is a director of research, first class, at INRIA, the premiere French public research institute in applied mathematics and computer science. Her contributions to Markovian modeling in image processing and remote sensing were recognized by IEEE with her elevation to Fellow in 2003. But her story really begins in Cannes, France where she was taught at an early age by her mother Jeanne and grandmother Louise that she could do whatever she wanted if she worked hard enough. La Vie de Josiane Zerubia: A Modern Woman of Science begins here.
Maeve Hickok, posted on
July 27th, 2009
Earth Observation, Education, Featured Person, People, Technology
| 1 Comment »
Forest Watch science and education strive to halt climate change
As the international remote sensing community readies the 2009 IGARSS in Cape Town, South Africa this July, Earthzine recalls last summer’s conference in Boston, Massachusetts with this Featured Person interview with Dr. Barrett N. “Barry” Rock, professor of forestry, botany and remote sensing in the Complex Systems Research Center and the Department of Natural Resources at the University of New Hampshire. Barry Rock exemplifies IEEE’s mission to put science and technology to work for the benefit of humanity and Earth. He has “grown” a network of hundreds of students and teachers in Forest Watch, the outreach program he founded in 1991 in order to scientifically track the effects of U.S. efforts to diminish the damage of air pollution on human health and vegetation. In Boston, he demonstrated the Forest Watch model of university/K-12 partnership and IEEE scientific/community outreach at the 2008 IEEE International Geosciences and Remote Sensing Symposium.
Maeve Hickok, posted on
May 7th, 2009
Biodiversity, Ecosystems, Education, Energy, Featured Person, People, Politics, Would You Believe?
| 1 Comment »
Climate Change in Africa: Personal Observations and Second Hand Narrations from a Returned US Peace Corps Volunteer
In 2005, Stephen Andersen took a leave of absence from IBM and traveled to Africa on a Peace Corps mission. Here he shares several of his personal experiences related to climate in Mali and Kenya and how it is changing the way of life for friends he made during his mission.
Stephen Andersen, posted on
April 8th, 2009
Articles, Climate, Disasters, People
| 1 Comment »
Indigenous Perspectives in GEOSS: An Interview with Dr. Gregory Cajete
Earthzine’s Editor-In-Chief Paul Racette speaks with Dr. Gregory Cajete – a Tewa Indian from Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico and author of five books on Native American education, history and philosophy – about Native American science and the role Indigenous perspectives have in realizing an integrated Earth observing system.
Paul Racette, posted on
April 6th, 2009
Earth Observation, Education, Featured Person, People, Technology
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The IEEE President’s Sustainability Initiative
Most readers of Earthzine are well aware of the concept of sustainability and its two major themes, environmental protection and social equity. Within the engineering community, the idea of sustainability as an element of modern engineering is also gaining in acceptance.
Brad Allenby, posted on
April 6th, 2009
Articles, People, Sustainability, Technology
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NASA Image of the Day
Orbital Sunrise
The Expedition 24 crew on the International Space Station photographed this image of polar mesospheric clouds illuminated by an orbital sunrise. Polar mesospheric, or noctilucent ("night shining"), clouds usually are seen at twilight, following the setting of the sun below the horizon and darkening of Earth's surface. Occasionally the station's orbital track becomes nearly parallel to Earth's day/night terminator for a time, allowing the clouds to be visible to the crew at times other than the usual twilight because of the station's altitude. This photograph shows polar mesospheric clouds illuminated by the rising, rather than setting, sun at center right. Low clouds on the horizon appear yellow and orange, while higher clouds and aerosols are illuminated a brilliant white. Polar mesospheric clouds appear as light blue ribbons extending across the top of the image. The station was located over the Greek island of Kos in the Aegean Sea (near the southwestern coastline of Turkey) when the image was taken at approximately midnight local time. The orbital complex was tracking northeastward, nearly parallel to the terminator, making it possible to observe an apparent "sunrise" located almost due north. A similar unusual alignment of the ISS orbit track, terminator position and seasonal position of Earth's orbit around the sun allowed for this striking imagery of over the Southern Hemisphere. Image Credit: NASA
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