Note the irony: In the wake of the Haitian earthquake, there was abundant GIS data made available and many innovative new apps were developed based on it. Now that there's a disaster in the first world, we're held hostage to corporate IT's closed system.
On Tue, Jun 15, 2010 at 2:34 PM, Ian White <[email protected]> wrote: > you are kidding, right? if there was ever a need for open geospatial data, > this is most definitely not it. much as it would be nice to have, there's > nothing you can 'do' with it to change the state of affairs. contrast this > with access to transit, crime, base map, environment, etc........ > > == > > Ian White :: Urban Mapping Inc > > 690 Fifth Street Suite 200 :: San Francisco CA 94107 > > T.415.946.8170 :: F.866.385.8266 :: urbanmapping.com/blog > > On 15 Jun 2010, at 11:15, gis pundit wrote: > > This is very disturbing. If ever there was a need for open geospatial data, > this is it. > > I wonder what possessed the Federal & State Agencies to agree to upload > their only copies of the location data their responders are collecting in > the field to a BP-controlled GIS server? > > If it wasn't so illegal, I'd say that BP corporate firewall was just begging > for a few good hackers to "fix" this problem :) > > > >>-------- Original Message -------- >>Subject: FW: Letter on BP Oil Spill GIS Appears, Disappears >>Date: Tue, 15 Jun 2010 09:17:14 -0400 >>TO: NWCG GIS Task Group >> >>FYI >> >>http://www.scientificblogging.com/chatter_box/bp_gis_and_mysterious_vanishing_open_letter >> >>http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/54563 >> >>Introduction: >> >>Andrew Stephens and Devon Humphrey, both Geographic Information Systems >>(GIS) professionals with 40 years combined GIS experience, were the >>primary architects of the GIS Unit and lab at Incident Command Post >>(ICP) Houma. Mr. Stephens has 20 years GIS experience, teaching GIS to >>organizations worldwide, and is an expert in GIS deployment, start-up, >>training and workflow design. Mr. Humphrey has 20 years background in >>Oil Spill GIS with Texas General Land Office, where he was on the >>development team of an award-winning oil spill GIS. He has also been an >>instructor since 1994 at the National Spill Control School at Texas A&M >>University, Corpus Christi. The ‘Spill School’ is named in the Oil >>Pollution Act of 1990. >> >>**----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------** >>Deepwater Horizon GIS Data Concerns >>From: Andrew Stephens and Devon Humphrey >>Date: June 9, 2010 >>Subject: BP control of GIS data >> >>To Whom It May Concern: >> >>Executive Summary >> >>This letter is being submitted to make it known that several key factors >>of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and Incident Command >>Structure (ICS) are not being met in the Unified Command process of the >>BP Deepwater Horizon Incident. Specifically regarding the treatment of >>Geographic Information System (GIS) data, current configuration and >>process limit, or exclude completely, the flow of information about the >>extent and status of the disaster to government entities, emergency >>responders, and the public. >> >>GIS is essential to the oil spill response effort and to the recovery of >>public resources. Almost every map and geographic display representing >>the Deepwater Horizon Incident is sourced by GIS data. Current GIS >>management processes indicate that BP is treating GIS data as >>proprietary information, and these data are currently being stored >>behind the BP corporate firewall. It is our understanding that public >>agencies, for example, The US Fish and Wildlife Service and The >>Louisiana National Guard, are literally submitting the only copy of >>agency field data, via wireless-enabled mobile GPS devices, directly to >>a BP GIS server behind the corporate firewall in Houston. Examples of >>these data are; dead bird and fish locations with photos, boom >>placement, engineered construction barriers, including dates, and other >>descriptive information and photos. >> >>State Emergency Operation Center (EOC) staff, Parish EOC staff, and >>other Emergency Responders and Recovery Specialists do not have access >>to these GIS datasets, contrary to all NIMS guidance, protocols and >>principles. >> >>Per NIMS, redundancy of incident information is to be managed jointly, >>and fully accessible by the Federal On Scene Coordinator (FOSC), the >>State On Scene Coordinator (SOSC), and the Responsible Party. Technology >>allows implementation of this design to occur instantaneously and >>automatically (see attached diagram). The intent of this letter is to >>inform The President, the National Incident Commander, the FOSC, the >>SOSC, and the public, of the need to establish and enforce NIMS >>compliant access policies over all Deepwater Horizon oil spill GIS data. >> >>The Geospatial Intelligence Officer (GIO) and the GIS Unit Leader, who >>proposed NIMS-compliant GIS architecture to Unified Command, and >>supported access to these GIS data, have been removed from the Houma ICP >>by BP IT department managers. >> > <ATT00001..txt> > > _______________________________________________ > Geowanking mailing list > [email protected] > http://geowanking.org/mailman/listinfo/geowanking_geowanking.org > > _______________________________________________ Geowanking mailing list [email protected] http://geowanking.org/mailman/listinfo/geowanking_geowanking.org
