got geoint?

Welcome to the Friday’s Food for Thought post from got geoint? As our faithful readers know, we like to honor Earth Day, because well, GEOINT, or humanity for that matter, would not exist without good old mother Earth. And let’s not forget that Earth Day turns 41 today. Yes, last year was a big deal — the big “40″ — but who really honors a 41st anniversary? Well, we do. And on a separate note, USGIF is hosting, in conjunction with Women In Technology (WIT), its “Meet the Agency” event where attendees got to learn more about the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency(NGA) on Monday. Be sure to mark your calendars and happy Earth Day!

Earth Day Organizers Call for ‘A Billion Acts of Green’
If the environmental movement has a high holiday, Earth Day is it. The annual effort to raise public awareness about the environment and inspire actions to clean it up marks its 41st anniversary on Friday, coinciding with the Christian Good Friday and Judaism’s celebration of Passover. In an effort dubbed “A Billion Acts of Green,” organizers are encouraging people to observe Earth Day 2011 by pledging online at act.earthday.org/ to do something small but sustainable in their own lives to improve the planet’s health — from switching to compact fluorescent light bulbs to reducing the use of pesticides and other toxic chemicals. “Millions of people doing small, individual acts can add up to real change,” said Chad Chitwood, a spokesman for the umbrella group coordinating efforts. Read the full Reuters story here.

Earth Day’s 41st Anniversary Celebrated by Google
If you open Google’s homepage you will be greeted by an Eden-like scene of diverse wild animals in their natural habitats. This Google doodle, built around the search giant’s logo, is its latest celebration of Earth Day, started 41 years ago to raise awareness of and appreciation for the natural world. The interactive scene features two pandas, one of which shocks the other with a sneeze when you place your mouse on it, a nod to this YouTube video. Other animated features include a fish swimming up a waterfall, only to be snatched up in the jaws of a bear, a koala climbing up and down a eucalyptus tree and a penguin leaping off an iceberg (you can read here how islanders in the South Atlantic rescued thousands of endangered northern rockhopper penguins, which were caught in thick oil slicks). Read more from the Guardian here.

Starbucks, Caribou Offering Free Coffee Friday for Earth Day
Carrying around your own coffee mug on Friday could prove lucrative, while also benefiting Mother Earth. Coffee giants Starbucks and Caribou are among the retailers offering freebies and other specials to customers Friday in observance of Earth Day. Both are giving away free coffee to people who bring in their own mugs, and Starbucks is also offering free tea. Caribou normally gives mug-presenting customers 50 cents off, while Starbucks ordinarily gives 10 cents off. Hey, nothing like using Earth Day as a PR hook, but this one seems pretty legit. Now, if only Starbucks and Caribou could have a “no disposable cup policy” where you had to bring in your own mug everyday…

Amazon’s Green Consumer Mapping Beats Alternate Earth Day Coverage
Amazon, the nation’s largest online retailer has released maps that demonstrate four environmental purchasing habits’ regional tendencies. Amazon tallied the annual purchases made regarding books and products related to water conservation, energy savings, garden-to-table, and green parenting. As companies amp up for Earth Day sales, perhaps a bit of an oxymoron, the press releases and blog posts about sustainable actions can be overwhelming. Amazon’s analysis turns typical Earth Day coverage on its head. Amazon’s Green Blog boasts colorful hot-spot maps typically reserved for biodiversity threats and climate change danger zones in the scientific world. Read more here and check out the map below.

How to Celebrate Earth Day with NASA
NASA is joining in on the celebration of Earth Day 2011 today, with a variety of online activities that highlight the agency’s involvement in Earth science and the protection and preservation of our home planet. Here’s a full list of these activities provided by our friends at Space.com.

What Are We Going To Do – Dramarama
“What are we doing here? And what are we doing to her?” Profound words from the the LA-based band Dramarama that rode the late ’80s and early ’90s alternative wave for a very short period of time. Check out this home-made video that poignantly uses the song to express the true meaning of saving our planet.

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