The Secret Life of Data

Editor's Notes

• #4 http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/54428main_MM_image_feature_102_jwlarge.jpg Earthrise at Christmas “ This photo of "Earthrise" over the lunar horizon was taken by the Apollo 8 crew in December 1968, showing Earth for the first time as it appears from deep space”.
• #5 “ I prepared a Day–Glo sandwich board with a little sales shelf on the front, decked myself out in a white jump suit, boots, and a top hat with a crystal heart and made my debut at the University of California in Berkeley, selling buttons for twenty–five cents. It went perfectly. The dean's office threw me off the campus, the San Francisco Chronicle reported it, and other newspapers picked up the story. I soon branched out to Stanford, then to Columbia, Harvard, and MIT. I sent buttons to scientists, secretaries of state, senators, people in the Soviet Union, UN officials, and famous thinkers like Marshall McLuhan and, of course, Buckminster Fuller. Fuller wrote back, "Well, you can only see about half the earth at any given time." It is no accident of history that the first Earth Day, in April 1970, came so soon after color photographs of the whole earth from space were made by homesick astronauts on the Apollo 8 mission to the moon in December 1968. Those riveting Earth photos reframed everything. “ http://click.si.edu/Story.aspx?story=31
• #6 Screen capture of Aljazeera.net article of First Images taken of ‘new’ planets . Viewed November 17, 2008 at http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2008/11/2008111423423971198.html
• #8 http://www.scar.org/treaty/ “ The primary purpose of the Antarctic Treaty is to ensure "in the interests of all mankind that Antarctica shall continue forever to be used exclusively for peaceful purposes and shall not become the scene or object of international discord." To this end it prohibits military activity, except in support of science; prohibits nuclear explosions and the disposal of nuclear waste; promotes scientific research and the exchange of data; and holds all territorial claims in abeyance. The Treaty applies to the area south of 60° South Latitude, including all ice shelves and islands.” Map - http://www.ats.aq/imagenes/info/antarctica_e.jpg Antactic Digital Database License terms - http://www.add.scar.org:8080/add/license_terms.jsp GCMD - http://gcmd.gsfc.nasa.gov/Aboutus/gcmd_faq/about_portals.html Pulsifer, Peter L., Taylor, D. R. F. 2007, Spatial Data Infrastructure: Implications for Sovereignty in the Canadian Arctic, appears in the Canadian Polar Commission newsletter, Meridian, spring-summer, April 25, pp. 1-5. “ As an alternative, there have been suggestions that the Antarctic Treaty System could be used as a model for dealing with territorial claims as well as resource and environmental management in the Arctic (Ibbitson, 2006; Nowlan, 2001). In this model, territorial claims are set aside – they are neither recognized nor denied. Integrated resource management and environmental protection fall under a policy and legal regime established under an environmental protocol to the Antarctic Treaty and other treaty instruments. These mechanisms are proving effective in managing various facets of Antarctic geopolitics and environmental stewardship. The system recognizes the value of a well developed data infrastructure supporting of the treaty system and scientific research. In the Antarctic region, the development of data infrastructure (including Spatial Data Infrastructure) is carried out by a number of organizations and programs including the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat (www.ats.aq), the Joint Committee on Antarctic Data Management (www.jcadm.scar.org) and the Antarctic Spatial Data Infrastructure (www.antsdi.scar.org). Increasingly, these organizations are cooperating to develop a comprehensive and integrated data infrastructure for the Antarctic region.
• #9 http://www.polarcom.gc.ca/media.php?mid=3710 Pulsifer, Peter L., Taylor, D. R. F. 2007, Spatial Data Infrastructure: Implications for Sovereignty in the Canadian Arctic, appears in the Canadian Polar Commission newsletter, Meridian, spring-summer, April 25, pp. 1-5. Hard power or an Arctic treaty approach? “ A similar infrastructure could provide great benefit to the Arctic region. Regional projects are already being developed. As part of the GIT Barents Project, Russia, Finland, Sweden and Norway have cooperated to establish a joint geographic infrastructure in the Barents Region ( www.gitbarents.fi ).” “ Like the Antarctic, the Arctic is a region where sovereignty issues are a concern, scientific research activity is high, and pressure is increasing to develop resources. Unlike the Antarctic, the Arctic region is home to many tens of thousands of permanent residents. The way we manage sovereignty concerns and environmental stewardship will therefore significantly affect the lives of many. An effective Geospatial Data Infrastructure can contribute to successful stewardship by helping to establish constructive solutions for sovereignty issues and for sound management of resources and the environment.”
• #11 Image - http://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/satellites/radarsat2/inf_over.asp Walrus Article - http://www.walrusmagazine.com/articles/2008.06-technology-for-sale-arctic-sovereignty-radarsat-mda-michael-byers/
• #12 “ At the request of Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International in May 2009, AAAS undertook an initial review of satellite imagery for the Civilian Safety Zone (CSZ) in northeastern Sri Lanka. Human rights groups expressed concern over the status and safety of civilians due to the heavy fighting occurring 9-10 May, 2009. Comparing the May 6 and May 10, 2009 images of the CSZ, AAAS found significant removal of IDP shelters. In addition, imagery showed evidence of bomb shell craters, destroyed permanent structures, mortar positions, and 1,346 individual graves.” http://shr.aaas.org/geotech/srilanka/srilanka.shtml#4 Space Today Online, The Satellite Wars - http://www.spacetoday.org/Satellites/YugoWarSats.html#afghanistan