CIESIN News

Data Needs for Understanding Urbanization and for Developing Climate Indicators Examined in Washington DC Meeting

Fri, 10 May 2013 04:00:00 GMT

How remote sensing data from the NASA Earth observation satellites can be used in conjunction with socioeconomic data to improve assessment of urbanization patterns and trends was one of two main topics addressed in a technical interchange meeting organized by SEDAC, the NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center operated by CIESIN, May 8–9 in Washington, D.C. The second topic was the potential role of NASA data centers like SEDAC in supporting the development of a system of indicators for the U.S. National Climate Assessment (NCA), a Congressionally-mandated assessment of climate change and its impacts in the United States.

As part of the meeting, two parallel breakout sessions were held with members from the SEDAC User Working Group (UWG) and the UWG of the Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC), to take advantage of their combined expertise and understanding of remote sensing and socioeconomic data. Experts from NASA, the NCA, other NASA data centers, and the World Bank also participated in person and by teleconference. Later in the meeting, SEDAC manager Robert Chen, deputy manager Alex de Sherbinin, and lead project scientist Marc Levy briefed the SEDAC UWG on recent activities and progress, including improvements to the SEDAC Web site and the expanding range of scientific citations of SEDAC data.

The SEDAC UWG is chaired by Molly Macauley of Resources for the Future. The UWG provides strategic advice and guidance to SEDAC and NASA and reviews SEDAC data development and dissemination plans.

Political and Civic Leaders from Argentina Visit the Earth Institute

Fri, 03 May 2013 04:00:00 GMT

More than a dozen political and civil society leaders from Argentina came to the Columbia University Morningside Heights campus in New York May 2 to meet with scientists from CIESIN and the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI). Organized by Fundación RAP, the Red de Acción Politica or Policy Action Network, the bipartisan delegation was visiting in order to learn more about policy options related to climate variability and change and the role of science in sustainable development. CIESIN director Robert Chen gave a presentation on the use of spatial data in applications and decision making regarding sustainable development, and deputy director Marc Levy described ongoing international efforts to develop socioeconomic scenarios useful for climate vulnerability and adaptation analyses. IRI director Lisa Goddard provided an overview of climate variability and change in South America and their impacts on agriculture and other sectors. The Fundación RAP brings together politicians from different parties and levels of government in Argentina to encourage pluralism in political leadership and to expand dialogue between civil society and politicians.

Fundación RAP/Policy Action Network

New Columbia Institute to Address Data for Smart Cities

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 04:00:00 GMT

Making cities “smarter” was the focus of a planning meeting at Columbia University April 24 organized by the new Institute for Data Sciences and Engineering (IDSE) of the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science. Chaired by Andrew Smyth of the Department of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, the IDSE Smart Cities Center aims to utilize new information technologies and data management approaches to improve the sustainability of urban infrastructure and buildings, address problems with aging urban infrastructure, and facilitate everyday activities in a crowded urban environment. CIESIN director Robert Chen is participating in the center as an Affiliated Member, and gave a brief presentation on relevant CIESIN projects on urban earthquake and flood risks and mapping of Superfund sites.

Institute for Data Sciences and Engineering, Smart Cities Center

New Online Resource Supports Learning About Scientific Data Management Practices

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 04:00:00 GMT

CIESIN senior digital archivist Robert Downs created seven modules for the online learning resource, Data Management for Scientists Short Course, which was developed as a collaborative effort of the ESIP Commons, the knowledge repository of the Federation of the Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP). The short course aims to improve data management practices of scientists and data management professionals. Modules developed by Downs include Providing Access to Your Data: Access Mechanisms,” “Providing Access to Your Data: Determining Your Audience,” “Providing Access to Your Data: Rights,” “Responsible Data Use: Data Restrictions,” “Working with Your Archive: Broadening Your User Community,” “Providing Access to Your Data: Tracking Data Usage,” and “Providing Access to Your Data: Handling Sensitive Data.” All of the modules in the short course are freely available for use under a Creative Commons Attribution License, and may be used individually or combined to support instruction and learning on data management, dissemination, stewardship, and related issues.

ESIP Commons Data Management Short Course

CIESIN Represented at Annual Population and Geography Conferences

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 04:00:00 GMT

CIESIN staff members participated in two recent scientific conferences, the annual meetings of the Population Association of America (PAA) and the Association of American Geographers (AAG). Associate research scientist Susana Adamo organized two sessions at the PAA, held in New Orleans April 11–13. The first session, in which she served as the discussant, focused on urbanization and climate change. Presenters included former CIESIN scientist Deborah Balk of the CUNY Institute for Demographic Research. The second session, which Adamo chaired, addressed the demographic dimensions of climate change and included presenters from the U.S., Burkina Faso, and Ghana. More than 2,000 demographers, sociologists, economists, public health professionals, and other population experts attended the conference.

At the AAG annual meeting in Los Angeles April 9–13, geographic information specialist Tricia Chai-Onn staffed the NASA booth, helping to increase awareness and understanding of NASA Earth science data and services, including those offered by the NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC) operated by CIESIN. The AAG meeting attracts more than 5,000 geographers, Geographic Information System specialists, environmental scientists, and other scholars from around the world, providing an excellent opportunity to interact directly with SEDAC users.

Students from France Begin Spring Internships at CIESIN

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 04:00:00 GMT

CIESIN welcomed three interns April 16 from the École Polytechnique in Paris: Guillem Bardy, Juliette Mansard, and Sarah Le Net. Bardy is majoring in environmental sciences and is working with senior research associate Alex de Sherbinin to study flood resilience in New York City, Mumbai, and Ho Chi Minh City. Mansard, also an environmental sciences major, is working with associate director for geospatial applications, Mark Becker, on a new project to develop a decision support system on flood hazards for the lower Hudson River Valley. Le Net is majoring in renewable energies and civil engineering and is collaborating with information scientist Xiaoshi Xing to retrieve and analyze sulphur dioxide emissions data by region and by country for the period 1850 to 1969. All three interns are third-year students enrolled in a four-year program at École Polytechnique that leads to the equivalent of a U.S. masters degree. This is the sixth year that CIESIN has hosted three-month internships arranged through the Alliance program, a joint venture between Columbia University, École Polytechnique, Sciences Po, and the Université de Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne.

Alliance Program

April Brings Visitors to New York for Collaborative Discussions on Data Issues

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 04:00:00 GMT

CIESIN hosted four sets of visitors April 8–11 to discuss diverse data needs regarding education, environmental policy, medical research, and microfinancing. On April 8, consultants Chuck Kent and Mary Mederios Kent came to the Lamont campus to discuss potential use of CIESIN data and visualizations in a new science museum being developed by the Roberto Marino Foundation in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Museum of Tomorrow will emphasize Earth's “vital signs” in a range of interactive and immersive exhibits. This visit was followed by a meeting April 9 with Josh Galperin, Angel Hsu, and several other colleagues from the Yale University Center for Environmental Law & Policy (YCELP), who are working with CIESIN deputy director Marc Levy, senior staff associate Alex de Sherbinin, and other CIESIN staff to plan the 2014 Environmental Performance Index (EPI).

On April 10, CIESIN director Robert Chen met with Alexandra Henrion-Caude, head of the Genetics Lab at the Imagine Institute of Genetic Diseases in Paris and a senior researcher with France’s National Institute of Health and Medical Research. Dr. Caude, an expert on rare genetic diseases, is exploring new ways to make scientific data more accessible and usable. Her seven-week visit to the United States was sponsored by the Eisenhower Fellowships, an international exchange program based in Philadelphia.

The use of geospatial data and techniques to improve microfinance activities in developing countries was the subject of the fourth visit on April 11. Paul Hamlin and Milan Patel of FINCA, a global charitable organization focused on providing financial services to the world′s lowest-income entrepreneurs, met with Chen, Levy, and others to plan collaboration in assessing poverty outreach and social performance.

New Report from CIESIN and Yale Examines the Policy Uses of Environmental Indicators

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 04:00:00 GMT

Lead author of the study, Alex de Sherbinin, discusses the findings in a video interview on the Environmental Performance Index blogspot, where the report can also be accessed.

Over the past few years the number of environmental indices has increased dramatically. However, little attention has been given to how they have actually been used in policy and decision making. A new report produced by CIESIN and Yale University, Indicators in Practice: How Environmental Indicators Are Being Used in Policy and Management Contexts, addresses this gap by examining the role of indicators in environmental policy making, and by quantifying measurable impacts. The report assesses both the theory and practice of indicator use, drawing on a range of case studies from around the globe. The resulting case studies are available in the report and on Yale′s Environmental Performance Index (EPI) Web site as part of the ongoing Indicators in Practice project.

Three potential applications for indicators emerged from among the diverse possibilities: use by policymakers to help choose a course of action; broad, conceptual use of indicators to frame an issue for society; and the political role of indicators, helping to make a case for or against policy action.

CIESIN senior research associate Alex de Sherbinin was lead author of the report, written with deputy director Marc Levy and researchers Aaron Reuben and Laura Johnson from the Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy (YCELP) and School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. YCELP and CIESIN produce the Environmental Performance Index (EPI), which every two years ranks more than 130 countries based on 22 performance indicators. A video interview with de Sherbinin discusses the report′s findings. The study will continue to track the evolving uses and impacts of environmental indicators, adding new case studies as they are produced to the Indicator Case Studies Web site.

Clinton Global Initiative Highlights Guiding Stars Project on Environmental Performance Indicators

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 04:00:00 GMT

CIESIN is part of a recent 3-year commitment made by the Samuel Group of Companies to undertake the project, "Guiding Stars: Environmental Performance Innovation, 2012," as a Commitment to Action of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI). In partnership with the Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy (YCELP) and the Asian Institute for Energy and Environmental Sustainability (AIEES), the Guiding Stars project will build on more than a decade of experience in developing environmental metrics such as the Environmental Performance Index (EPI). The project will assess what is needed in terms of data, methods, and models to develop and implement new metrics that can help transform how policy makers understand the scope of environmental and human health problems and put in place policies to reduce pollution and other environmental degradation.

Established in 2005 by President Bill Clinton, the CGI brings together global leaders annually in New York City to devise and implement innovative solutions to critical global challenges. The Commitment to Action is an element of the CGI aimed at helping CGI members translate practical goals into meaningful and measurable results through networking and by showcasing and communicating member progress.

Guiding Stars Project Commitment

Increasing Resilience and Sustainability in East Africa

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 04:00:00 GMT

CIESIN deputy director Marc Levy and senior research associate Sandra Baptista travelled to Arusha, Tanzania, April 3–6 to participate in the US Agency for International Development (USAID) Planning for Resilience in East Africa through Policy, Adaptation, Research and Economic Development (PREPARED) Strategic Work Planning Workshop. PREPARED is a USAID-funded program aimed at strengthening the resiliency and sustainability of East African economies, transboundary freshwater ecosystems, and communities. The purpose of the Arusha workshop, organized by Tetra Tech ARD, was to develop a five-year implementation strategy and initial work plan on climate change adaptation, biodiversity conservation, and water supply, sanitation and hygiene in the East Africa Community and Lake Victoria Basin region.