White House Develops Web App to Highlight the Impact of Climate Change
The White House is all set to introduce a web-based application that will show Americans how climate change will impact their own backyards. The goal is to make people see the immediate threat of global warming. The app at climate.data.gov would be a potential tool to allow individuals, business owners and local governments to type in an address – as they do on Google Earth – to see how the projected rise in sea levels might increase the chance that their own house will be flooded in the coming years.
The website will initially serve primarily as a clearinghouse for climate science data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the United States Geological Survey, the Defense Department and NASA. The first batch of data will take a look at coastal flooding and the rise in sea levels. NASA and the NOAA will ask researchers and private companies to develop software simulations illustrating the impact of sea level rise.
Robert M. Pestronk, executive director of the National Association of County and City Health Officials, said he hoped that the new climate data tools would help municipal officials plan for climate change. The health effects of climate change – from reduced air quality to extreme weather to climate-sensitive infectious diseases – need to be tackled with better preparation.
Vikas is a staff writer for the Sustainable Development news and editorial section on Justmeans. He is an MBA with 20 years of managerial and entrepreneurial experience and global travel. He is the author of "The Power of Money" (Scholars, 2003), a book that presents a revolutionary monetary economic theory on poverty alleviation in the developing world. Vikas is also the official writer for an international social project for developing nations "Decisions for Life" run in collaboration between the ILO, the University of Amsterdam and the Indian Institute of Management.
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