Pew Internet Government Online Report
People are finding online government increasingly useful, if the findings of a recent Pew Internet and American Life Project study are any indication. The late 2009 phone survey found that 82 percent of the more than 2,000 people interviewed had some sort of online interaction with federal, state, or local government in the previous year. More than 30 percent supplemented more formal government contact with information from some sort of social media, such as blogs, text messages, video, or social networking. Although the survey indicated more highly paid and educated people tended to seek information online, the spread of users across races was roughly equal.
Managing the Risks of Climate Change Interactive Guide
How can a local community prepare for the effects of climate change when the world’s leaders and scientists can’t even agree on what should be done? Arctic and northern communities can use a unique tool presented by the Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources. Local stakeholders can plug in data to make their case locally and get step-by-step guidance in assessing and making decisions to decrease their individual risk. Although geared toward Northern communities, the guide has good advice for local climate change fighters in any corner of the globe.
Visualizing the Oil Spill Map
This is your neighborhood. This is your neighborhood covered with a Deep Horizon-sized oil spill. Any questions? Those looking for perspective on the mammoth Gulf oil spill only need to enter their zip code to see the scope of the disaster transposed on their hometown. The unnerving results are brought to you in real-time using data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NASA, and others.
Oil Reporter
While this nifty smartphone app has opened a direct line from responders working in the Gulf to the public, it can do a lot more than pass along oil spill news. The free download can also be customized (with or without the help of some hard-volunteering geeks) to suit the data collection, mapping, and other needs of response organizations. Pictures, texts, and video are geotagged, while users are given easy access to important resources and volunteer information.
Zombie Epidemic Map
Why are zombie epidemics so much more fun to model than real disasters? We don’t know, but at least they get folks thinking. Here’s one of the latest, featured on the College Life website. According to the site, the mapmakers used immigration, population, climate, and agricultural data to develop this slick graphic tracking a year’s worth of zombism in the United States.