got geoint?

Welcome to the Friday’s Food for Thought post from got geoint? We hope everyone had a productive, albeit short work week. Do you all recall our story from last year about two enterprising MIT students who for a mere $148.00 launched a camera to the edge of space and took some amazing photos of earth? Well, the grassroots GEOINT trend has extended into 2010 and, and this time, an MIT student has decided to use a kite string that’s tethered to a helium-filled trash bag and a point-and-shoot camera to take images of the Gulf Coast oil spill. So, this made us think…there truly is a grassroots GEOINT movement happening these days. People need aerial images and information — especially in the face of a disaster — and they are not afraid to go out and get these images on their own. Very cool stuff, and perfect for today’s FFT post theme. Hope you enjoy.

Citizens Monitor Gulf Coast After Oil Spill
Here is what MIT student Jeffrey Warren plans to do this week: Walk up and down the Louisiana coast holding a kite string that’s tethered to a helium-filled trash bag and a point-and-shoot camera. The set-up may sound goofy. But Warren’s aim is serious. The 26-year-old is trying to monitor the effects of the oil spill that threatens to wreak environmental and economic havoc on the Gulf Coast of the United States. Warren knows that satellites and other official means are used to measure the extent of the oil spill, which occurred after an offshore oil rig exploded on April 20 and subsequently sank, causing an underwater oil pipeline to rupture. Read the full CNN story here.

DigitalGlobe Secures 12-Month Contract With National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency for Crisis Event Service
Speaking of using GEOINT in natural disasters, DigitalGlobe announced this week an agreement with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) for use of DigitalGlobe’s Crisis Event Service (CES) for a 12-month term. CES was launched by DigitalGlobe in July of last year to provide timely and accurate pre- and post-event satellite imagery to aid in emergency planning, response and recovery. Read the full press release here.

Definition of Grassroots Movement
A grassroots movement (often referenced in the context of a political movement) is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures. Grassroots movements are often at the local level, as many volunteers in the community give their time to support the local party, which can lead to helping the national party. For instance, a grassroots movement can lead to significant voter registration for a political party, which in turn helps the state and national parties. Read the full Wikipedia definition here.

Reinvesting in America: The Grassroots Movements That Are Feeding the Hungry, Housing the Homeless, and Putting the Americans Back to Work
Amazon Book Review: After winning a Pulitzer Prize with the Louisville Courier-Journal, Garr joined the nonprofit advocacy group World Hunger Year in 1989 and undertook an examination of grassroots organizations devoted to helping the poor become self-reliant. After visiting more than 200 cities, towns and villages in all 50 states and more than 500 projects, he details programs to assist Americans in securing food, shelter, decent housing, health care, political power, jobs skills and employment. The most effective agencies, he concludes, are multipurpose organizations that seek to identify and deal with problems using a one-on-one approach involving the people they serve as planners, builders and board members. The aim here is to help the down-and-out get back on their feet. This upbeat volume has a message for individuals, groups, elected officials and government agencies and may inspire many of us to emulate the organizations studied here. An appendix titled “Getting Involved” lists more than 180 grassroots groups by state for readers stirred to action. If you would like to buy this book, click here.

The Roots – The Next Movement
So, we admit that we often play cheesy music videos that tie into out FFT theme of the week. But sometime, we just need to showcase something that is great. From their 1999 classic album “Things Fall Apart,” this is the Next Movement by the Roots. Oh, and it ties into our grassroots theme! Hope you enjoy.

Happy Friday!

Tags: DigitalGlobe, DigitalGlobe and National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency for Crisis Event Service, DIY GEOINT, Friday's Food for Thought, got geoint?, Grassroots GEOINT, NGA and DigitalGlobe, United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation, USGIF