Dear Friends of CITRIS,
We are finding exciting new ways to gather and analyze data that put powerful new handles on issues that have been, until now, beyond the reach of understanding, responsible management, or repair. The two stories in this issue of The CITRIS Signal are good examples of how data can empower constituencies whose treatment has been driven more by sentiment, theory, or assumption than by data and analysis.
Read the full letter � |
by Gordy Slack
Pescadero Estuary, located an hour south of San Francisco, is a coastal habitat under intense pressure from several interest groups, some human, others wild. The 643 citizens of the nearby town of Pescadero need fresh water to drink. Local farmers need irrigation water to grow crops. The wild denizens of the wetlands, such as the California red-legged frog and the San Francisco garter snake, need the land for their habitat. And the estuary's endangered fish species need specific seasonal water regimens and salinity levels to survive...Read the full article �
|
by Gordy Slack
Cities are major players in the phenomenon of global warming: transportation, air conditioning and industry all convert fossil fuels into carbon dioxide (CO2). But cities can also absorb a significant amount of CO2; trees, greenways, gardens, parks, and agricultural zones can use it as the raw material for photosynthesis. While measuring a city's net output of CO2 is generally straightforward, it has proven more difficult to calculate how much CO2 people are actually generating before some of it gets absorbed by plant life. That gross number will be important to track if urban planners and policy makers are going to help California's cities minimize their contribution to climate change...Read the full article �
|
| About CITRIS The Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS) creates information technology solutions for many of our most pressing social, environmental, and health care problems.
|