A Practical Way of Thinking about Sustainability
By Neftali (Nef) Hernandez
The term sustainability is commonly used in the environmental field. In general, it is defined as the capacity to utilize resources and goods in perpetuity without adverse impacts to our environment, economy, or social settings. However in practice, sustainability has hundreds of definitions rendering it rather ambiguous. I want to examine one practical way of looking at sustainability … through the lens of Asset Management.
Can you think of a common factor that allowed ancient civilizations and today’s largest cities to be built and grow? If I were to pick just one, I would have to say it is WATER. Civilization depends on fresh water. This is why London is located on the Thames, Rome on the Tiber, New York on the Hudson and Kansas City on the Missouri. This is the case for nearly all established cities, from ancient civilizations like the Maya to today’s largest metropolitan areas. In addition to an abundant water source, these cities relied on sophisticated networks of aqueducts to deliver water to their people. We depend on this asset, high quality water, and will for as long as I can imagine.
But if civilization depends on these networks, how do we ensure that they are sustainable for years to come? One way could be through establishment and implementation of an Asset Management Plan. If you are in the financial industry or transportation sector, you might be familiar with Asset Management, but I will illustrate using a simple example most of us can relate to, the exterior of a home.
In this case, assume I want to sustain the outside of my house, which is my asset. To keep the value of my asset, I have to manage items like the roof, the siding, and the windows. Say my roof is rated to last 20 years and the replacement cost is about $2,000 (Yes this is really low, but remember I’m trying to make this a simple example). The siding should last a long time if painted every five years at a cost of $500 (assuming I do it myself), and the windows will last 35 years with a replacement cost of about $8,000.
I want my home to last forever, or to be sustainable so my great-grandchildren can one day live in the same home. In order to plan for the management of my asset, I plan to set-aside the money to pay for the maintenance and replacement of the exterior on a monthly basis: For the roof [$2,000/(12 months x 20 years)]= $8.33 per month; For the siding [$500/(12 months x 5 years)] = $8.33; and For the windows [$8,000/(12 months x 35 years)]= $19.04 per month. So my Asset Management Plan, indicates that to sustain the exterior of this house I have to set-aside almost $36 every month. Of course this example is extremely simple and ignores inflation and other realities (like a hailstorm that could give you a roof sooner than you expected).
Returning to my original point, this concept of asset management can be scaled up when you think about the sustainability of water services. Water utilities consist of many discrete yet interconnected elements often comprising a network of underground aqueducts and infrastructure of various ages, types, and condition located miles and miles apart. Many utilities have started using a fully digital system to track and manage assets. The system stores information about each asset such as pictures, status, description, acquisition date, expected maintenance dates, actual repairs, and costs. A Geographic Information System (GIS) combines data about the asset with its location for better resource management. Our society’s well-being requires properly managing water and water infrastructure, and using an asset management plan will likely position water utilities on the road to sustainability by establishing a framework for long-range financial planning to maintain critical infrastructure.
Asset Management Plans provide the structure to operate, maintain, rehabilitate, repair and replace things of value for a particular group or person; geospatially enabling them can further aid in scare resource allocation, planning, and growth. Asset Management Plans can be applied to a wide variety of resources including infrastructure and the environment, and can be adaptable to meet the needs of a scale; from your home to a large utility, from a single tree to the land, air and water upon life depends. Asset plans are a practical reminder of how we can strive towards our own sustainability by saving and planning right now.
About the Author: Neftali Hernandez grew up in Puerto Rico and is an Environmental Scientist with EPA Region 7′s Drinking Water Branch. He is a member of EPA’s Water Emergency Response Group and has a bachelor of science degree in biology and a masters of science degree in environmental health from the University of Puerto Rico.
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
Moving the Arch
By Casey J. McLaughlin
Remotely sensed data is a popular background for many maps today, but it isn’t all just a pretty picture. Images produced by satellite or airplane get processed and circulated at a very fast pace – everyone wants the latest and greatest. Speed often means ortho-rectification isn’t a high priority. Wikipedia gives a simple write up of the process:
An orthophoto, orthophotograph or orthoimage is an aerial photograph geometrically corrected (“orthorectified”) such that the scale is uniform: the photo has the same lack of distortion as a map. Unlike an uncorrected aerial photograph, an orthophotograph can be used to measure true distances, because it is an accurate representation of the Earth’s surface, having been adjusted for topographic relief,[1] lens distortion, and camera tilt.
Geospatial data can be a little more complicated than just having a latitude and longitude. We model the earth in two-dimensional space (the globe is an imperfect sphere) and we’re still relying on planar map views (flat) even on our screens of choice. Geospatial data should, therefore, contain good information about how that locational data (e.g. latitude and longitude) is collected and stored. I’ve commented previously on the challenges of managing spatial data (datums, cell vs gps, projections, field data) and now I present, “The Case of the Moving Arch.”
A few summers ago we visited the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri. After dipping my foot into the Mississippi, we ran around on the grounds of the park. It’s a great monument although I confess I didn’t take the long and cramped ride to the top. After my stroll through memory lane, I got back to thinking about imagery and plotted a reference point. The graphic below shows a few years as seen using Google Earth’s historical imagery catalogue – as far as I can tell GE is still the best place for doing this exercise.
Nostalgia and the joy of Google Earth aside, notice how the arch “moves” in the images! In both the 2011 images the Arch run south into the 2011 portion of my label. August might have fewer letters than September or November, but the Arch is clearly running off the picture well to the left/east of the image!
Are you amazed yet? I would hope not but thought I would check. I saw the impact of this image distortion when I was reviewing some images with an inspector plotting some of his photographs onto a map using aerial imagery (the photos were geotagged with a lat/lon). For this particular facility there were several images taken from a catwalk. He placed the image location point onto a map (not Google in this case, FYI) and the location was definitely not on the cross-walk (more like walking on air). Eventually, we found a satisfactory picture for the report but I’m left wondering if I had taken a photograph and not geotagged it in the field, which image could I use for adding an accurate latitude/longitude?
Normal-color kite aerial photograph of the upland study forest, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, May 2000. Oblique view toward the south shows a fully developed forest canopy. Kansas Geological Survey Current Research in Earth Sciences, Bulletin 248, Part 1
Perhaps I’m getting into geography minutia, but there is more and more finer resolution imagery available than ever before. Satellites and planes and kites (yes, kites) are acquiring imagery faster and finer (gigapixels!) and this trend will only continue. In the movie “Enemy of the State” Will Smith’s character (Robert Dean) is tracked in real-time by satellite (drone maybe, but satellite?!?). If we envision using remotely sensed imagery with such detail (seeing a dime on the street is another example) then knowing the distortion and resulting precision/accuracy seems rather important.
Casey McLaughlin is a first generation Geospatial Enthusiast who has worked with EPA since 2003 as a contractor and now as the Regional GIS Lead. He currently holds the rank of #1 GISer in EPA Region 7′s Environmental Services Division.
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
Bowl Games and Big (12) Data
By Casey J. McLaughlin
Our region struck out during bowl season this year but we can still look at some great sources for GIS data! We started by sharing some of the great sources available from Nebraska; today I turn to our host state of Kansas (for those keeping track, Kansas State lost to Oregon).
I should probably remind readers that I am an alumnus of the University of Kansas (I’m glad for college basketball season — ROCK CHALK) which is also home to several state level geo-related entities. The primary repository for Kansas’ GeoData is the Kansas Data Access Support Center (DASC). If you’re looking for Kansas data, , KansasGIS.org is the place to go with everything from LiDAR to Cell Towers to Aerial Imagery to Geology to Water to Wells. Most state offices who create GIS data, like the Office of Water, warehouse their data and metadata with DASC.
Aeromagnetic map of Kansas by Yarger, H.L., 1989: Kansas Geological Survey, Bulletin 226, sheet 2.
Not far from DASC (mostly just down the hall) is the Kansas Geological Survey (KGS). KGS is the primary creator of oil and gas data, water wells, and aeromagnetic data. Downloadable via KansasGIS.org, KGS itself connects users with data beyond just locations. It houses some very relevant and useful data as well as hosts some interesting web maps:
- Oil and Gas Maps: http://www.kgs.ku.edu/PRS/petroMaps.html
- Kansas Water Wells: http://maps.kgs.ku.edu/wwc5/index.cfm?extenttype=wwc5
- Aeromagnetic Data: http://www.kgs.ku.edu/Geophysics/gravMag.html
- Kansas High Plains Aquifer Atlas: http://www.kgs.ku.edu/HighPlains/HPA_Atlas/index.html
ASTER image (07/06/07) of Coffeyville, KS from KansasView
Next up is KansasView, “a consortium of universities and federal, state and local government working cooperatively to advance the use of remote sensing and GIS technologies in the State of Kansas for education and research and to assist government agencies apply these technologies.” KansasView provides data and information about the Kansas landscape using remote sensed data.
The Kansas Biological Survey (KBS), one building south of DASC and KGS, focuses on holistic environmental analysis. KBS hosts maps and webservices. I would highlight the reservoirs datasets that KBS has compiled; each reservoir is listed and most have readily available data and maps of bathymetry – that way you can find the best fishing spots or know the answer when someone asks, “How deep do you think this is?” The GreenReport map depicts “greenness” over the entire county (REST service available). I’ve heard several stories in the last week about winter wheat conditions in Kansas (specifically) and about potential flooding or drought activities in the spring and summer and this will be one way of monitoring conditions.
The Agency relies on state collected data and Kansas collects, maintains, and distributes a lot of great data. I know there is much more available; what is on your wish list of Kansas data?
Casey McLaughlin is a first generation Geospatial Enthusiast who has worked with EPA since 2003 as a contractor and now as the Regional GIS Lead. He currently holds the rank of #1 GISer in EPA Region 7′s Environmental Services Division
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
I started watching the first season of Friday Night Lights during the holidays. I’m not sure how I missed watching the show the first time around. I’ve read the book by H.G. Bissinger a couple of times, and didn’t realize until the second read through that the kids were actually my age. In fact as a Penn Quaker I might have stared across the field at Permian’s tight end who went to Harvard. I digress. In one of the last episodes of the first season, a chemical accident causes their home game to be moved. On screen the mayor of the town comes in and says something to the effect of, “EPA is shutting everything down.” I chuckled knowing that if such an event occurred the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) not the EPA would be the folks who would have things well in hand and make any such call regarding risks to the public. It reminded me of a post a made four years ago on another blog. I’ve revised and extended my remarks in bold, italic, brackets, to cover an oversight I made in the initial post.
Movies require you to suspend your disbelief, but when you watch a film that hits close to home it can be tough. I have a friend in federal law enforcement who squirms when cardboard cutout agents run across the screen. Action flicks don’t do his profession justice, but at least his job is sometimes glorified on celluloid. The only two movies I can remember featuring a prominent EPA employee are Ghostbusters and the Simpsons Movie, [ok I was also reminded of Fire Down Below but I will never admit to having watched that movie] neither of which ever made a kid say, “Man, when I grow up I want to work for the EPA.” On the off-chance your youngster was inspired to seek out public service please let them know we don’t inspect unlicensed nuclear storage facilities, nor do we have a fleet of helicopters. We do however, have one cool plane.
EPA’s Airborne Spectral Photometric Collection Technology, known as ASPECT, is an aircraft equipped with sensors that allow for surveillance of gaseous chemical releases from a safe distance. ASPECT gives emergency responders information regarding the shape, composition and concentration of gas plumes from disasters such as a derailed train, factory explosion or terrorist attack.
Since its inception ASPECT has flown over several fires, provided support during the Olympics and Columbia shuttle recovery, and supplied some of the first aerial images of the devastation along the coast during Katrina.
This was the scene in Kansas City outside our office windows in 2007 when a chemical facility went up in flames. ASPECT deployed and was instrumental in verifying that while ominous, the fire did not present a significant health threat to the community (the white signature you see below is the fire down below) [Fire Down Below credits "Anonymous" as the writer...Still on the fence about watching?].
Most of the technology you see in movies is sheer fantasy, but EPA’s high-tech plane and the scientists who operate it are worthy of a spot in the next summer blockbuster. Here’s hoping for the appearance of an EPA scientist who isn’t a bad guy (although with my face the best I could hope for is Thug #4 in the next straight to DVD clunker) [OK, Steven Seagal is supposed to be a good guy but I'll let you be the judge].
Jeffery Robichaud is a second generation EPA scientist who has worked for the Agency since 1998. He currently serves as Deputy Director of EPA Region 7′s Environmental Services Division. During highschool Jeff used to work at West Coast Video, where he watched most of Seagal’s work in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
Aquatic Conservation Focus Areas for EPA Region 7 – Part II
By Holly Mehl
In November, I laid out the classification hierarchy – the planning regions and assessment units – used by MoRAP and our environmental assessment staff to identify areas on which to focus conservation efforts in aquatic ecosystems of Missouri (download here). I explained how the Missouri analysis defined these areas at a more refined geographic scale (smaller areas) than for our other three states due to better data availability. In the end, separate conservation plans were completed for Missouri’s 17 Ecological Drainage Units (EDUs) within which 158 Conservation Focus Areas were identified. Our modeling showed these areas represent the broad diversity of stream ecosystems and riverine assemblages of species that exist within the state. To give an exciting example, if each of the 158 areas were adequately protected, 95-100% of targeted species within the state would be protected as well. Collectively, these areas represent occurrences of all native fish, mussel, and crayfish species in Missouri. This is very important when you consider that Missouri is home to numerous species that live nowhere else (see pictures below).
Without going into too much detail, for this blog I’ll talk specifically about what we were attempting to achieve with each component of our conservation strategy:
First, we wanted a separate conservation plan for each Ecological Drainage Unit (EDU). Learn more about EDU’s from Missouri Department of Conservation here. Endeavoring to conserve all EDUs is a holistic ecosystem approach to conservation since each one represents an interacting biophysical system and also because no single EDU contains the full range of species found within the state. Second, we wanted to represent two separate occurrences or populations of each target species within each EDU. Redundancy in the account of species that together determine each EDU’s distinct biological composition provides a safeguard for their long term persistence. Our next objective was to conserve an individual example of each Aquatic Ecological System Type (AES-Type) within each EDU. This helps ensure the wide spectrum of the diversity of distinct watershed types within each EDU are accounted for, including the varying successional patterns within ecosystems and dispersal capabilities of different species.
With each type of AES represented in our conservation strategy, and therefore hopefully protected, we next wanted at least one kilometer of the dominant Valley Segment Types (VSTs) for each size class (headwater, creek, small river, and large river) to be represented as an interconnected complex within each selected AES. The assumption here is that environmental conditions will be represented to which species have evolved adaptations for maximizing growth, reproduction and survival. It also represents a wide spectrum of the diversity of stream types within each EDU since the dominant stream types vary among AES-Types. Further, it accounts for source-sink dynamics which is science of how variation in habitat quality may affect the population growth or decline of organisms. Attempting to conserve an interconnected complex of dominant VSTs accounts for seasonal changes in habitat brought on by disturbances like droughts or floods. For example, a headwater species during a prolonged drought may have to seek refuge in larger streams in order to find suitable habitat.
Darters, crayfish, and mussels have limited dispersal capabilities; they cannot move long distances. We decided that three separate headwater VSTs should be represented within each Conservation Focus Area. Including multiple headwater segments should account for multiple distinct spatial occurrences of headwater species as well as preserve several high-quality examples of key nursery habitats.
Lastly, many species require multiple habitats for foraging, reproducing, over-wintering, or for disturbance avoidance. We wanted to conserve at least a one kilometer of each priority VST and ensure connectivity of a wide spectrum of diverse habitats (riffles, pools, runs, and backwaters) so that critters could reach their choice habitat.
My next blog entry in this series will cover the main steps we took to meet these objectives. Stay tuned for that one.
About the Author: Holly Mehl is an ecologist for EPA Region 7 who helps with water monitoring in the field and performs mapping for EPA Region 7’s program offices when in the office.
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
Bowl Games and Big (10) Data
By Jeffery Robichaud
Three of our four States have a college football team travelling to a bowl game this holiday season (Sorry Missouri, karmic payback for moving to the SEC I suppose). Iowa State, Kansas State and Nebraska all get to take a trip someplace warmer. Of course I type this as snow falls behind me outside the window. I don’t watch many bowl games nowadays, but in my younger (read pre-wife and kids) days I watched way too much football. One thing I remember from bowl games was the short infomercials about each of the schools, attempting to woo kids into thinking that Upper-Middle Northern Technical State College of the Plains was an awesome school by sharing stirring visuals of their picturesque tree-lined campus where everyone smiles and carries a handful of textbooks. So in the spirit of sharing, I thought I might take this season to share a few of our favorite sites, where data abounds. In order of historic bowl wins, Nebraska gets to be first.
Awesome Artistic Rendering of NE in Beef in "Beef Stakes," designed by art and technology student Sarah Hallacher
First up is the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources’ Nebraska Data Bank which is charged with developing, storing, processing and managing natural resources data relating to land and water resources of the State. My personal favorite data set at the Data Bank is their Dams Inventory.
Next we have the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. If you want to find a great place to camp or fish in Nebraska they have your map. You can toggle between boating, fishing, hunting, parks, and trails by clicking on the tabs above the map.
Finally, the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, hosts quite a bit of GIS data within their School of Natural Resources. They have some great holdings including climatology resources as do the folks at UNL’s Center for Advanced Land Management Information Technologies (CALMIT). Give these folks a couple days to get over their Bowl Loss to Georgia before you call them for further information (I’m going to take heat for this prognostication from several of my colleagues who are HUGE Big Red fans).
I know it is fun to read blogs but since it is still the season for sharing please share your favorite data sets…or how about data that is on your wish list in the comment section below.
Jeffery Robichaud is a second generation EPA scientist who has worked for the Agency since 1998. He currently serves as Deputy Director of EPA Region 7′s Environmental Services Division. His Alma Mater, the University of Pennsylvania, won the Ivy League Championship yet again this year. Go Quakers!
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
December 24th Geography
By Jeffery Robichaud
If you have read any of my blog articles, you know I have two rugrats. As both a scientist and an amateur geospatial enthusiast, I often find myself in the awkward position of having to try and describe the physics of a one Mr. Pere Noel’s trip to my boys about this time every year. Thankfully, all sorts of films have taken a stab at trying to explain a certain flight every December 24th. My favorite growing up (possibly because it starred Jacklyn Smith albeit as a parka wearing mom) was “The Night they Saved Christmas,” where elf Paul Williams explained such futuristic concepts as Santa’s Reindeer Zephyr and instant People Mover as well as some gizmo that slowed time. Last year’s “Arthur Christmas” had a more modern take. I think we probably will never really know how Sinterklaas does it… plain old magic I suppose.
But even though every year I am unable to break down the science for my boys, I am able to help out with the geography thanks to the fine men and women at NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command.
If you log into the NORAD Santa Tracker website on the 24th you can track Kris Kringle across the globe. My kids have loved it, and in my experience it has a couple of extra benefits. First it helps to pass a day full of anticipation since if they get antsy, I ask them to go check on Santa. Second it sneaks a bit of education into a mindless winter break filled with sweets and video games. Finally, it serves as an extra incentive to go to sleep on time as we watch Old Saint Nick creeping closer and closer to Kansas City (it’s amazing how fast they move when he hits St. Louis). This year they have switched from Google Maps to Bing Maps so I hope everything goes smoothly. If it crashes you can always check out Google’s own Santa Tracker (and hint…it doesn’t work properly in Internet Explorer)
We hope you’ve enjoyed reading our posts these last several months on EPA’s newest blog. Here is wishing all of you a Happy Holiday Season and a Happy New Year.
Jeffery Robichaud is a second generation EPA scientist who has worked for the Agency since 1998. He currently serves as Deputy Director of EPA Region 7′s Environmental Services Division. Cool gifts which Jeffery can remember Santa bringing include the Micronaut Biotron, Darth Vader’s Star Destroyer and a Playskool Holiday Inn (shameless cross-promotion and marketing before it was gauche).
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
Shifting Without Datum Documentation
By Casey J. McLaughlin
Most of us take for granted that latitude and longitude always mean the same place on a map but is that true? I started thinking about GPS points and how a simple hand held (or my phone) may have an error of +/- several feet. Now I am wondering if the fuss I make about specifying Datum is worthwhile….
Claudius Ptolemy: The World, 1482 (Wikipedia)
A Datum, defined by Webster’s is generally “something used as a basis for calculating or measuring.” Ah ha! I had never thought outside of the geographic usage of the word but I find understanding word roots can be quite helpful. What I really mean is what impact a Geodetic Datum has on latitude/longitude pairs. A Geodetic Datum is “the reference point for the various coordinate systems used in mapping the earth” (Geography.about.com). The Earth isn’t perfectly round and geodetic datums form the mathematical basis for modeling our home.
Meades Range Marker, Kansas (geocaching.com)
There are several datums which I see most frequently; NAD27, NAD83, and WGS1984. The NAD27 (North American Datum 1927) is interesting from a Region 7 perspective because its origin point is a survey point in Kansas – Meades Ranch (approx. 39.224087, -98.542152). Just for reference, the geometric center of the contiguous U.S. is also in Kansas! Once we began using high precision remote sensing technology, we needed a new datum – NAD83 (North American Datum 1983) was born. NAD83 has its origin defined by the Earth’s center of mass. The two systems are different enough that a given latitude/longitude could be several meters off – depending on the distance from the datum! Today, the World Geodetic System (WGS) 1984 Web Mercator is commonly used – I believe most major web platforms use it.
The main point I’m getting at here is that documenting the coordinate system information of geospatial data IS important. I have seen more than one dataset come in without proper documentation. To map it, I have to assume what datum is used – it wasn’t recorded. Please, if you’re collecting spatial data, don’t complicate it with incomplete information! Documenting our data collections is vital for using data with confidence and ensuring future data reuse.
For more information on Geodesy and such, check out:
Casey McLaughlin is a first generation Geospatial Enthusiast who has worked with EPA since 2003 as a contractor and now as the Regional GIS Lead. He currently holds the rank of #1 GISer in EPA Region 7′s Environmental Services Division.
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
Remembering a Colleague
By Jeffery Robichaud
I’m a couple of years younger than the Environmental Protection Agency, which had its 40th birthday back in 2010. There aren’t many charter members of EPA still working for the Agency today. Here in Kansas City I think we might be down to our last one. Most have retired. Unfortunately, we lost one last week, Les our former videographer.
I will always remember the time I spent working with Les on a video almost a decade ago in 2003. The next year (2004) marked the Bicentennial Anniversary of the Lewis and Clark Expedition; the Corps of Discovery. A set of men were going to re-enact the entire two year journey as the Corps of Discovery II and the National Park Service was creating a travelling exhibit to accompany Corps II. The Park Service had reached out to its Federal Partners to help with educational activities. Since EPA doesn’t have field offices along the route, we decided to develop a video that could accompany the travelling exhibit, led by Les.
Les attacked the project with vigor. I marveled at what he was able to do with a shoestring budget, working with A/V equipment that was a cross between home and professional, and a rag tag bunch of folks willing to help on the side. A few of us had a chance to moonlight with Les to develop a script, storyboard shots, and collect footage all while continuing with our normal work. Somehow Les found a way to pull it off, even managing to capture footage of the Corps II in St. Louis, work the footage into the end credits, and cut copies of the DVD before they began their journey up the Missouri. The DVD was the Agency’s contribution to the Tent of Many Voices which served as the centerpiece for educational activities of the Corps over the next two years.
Large festival-like celebrations greeted the Corps II at big cities like Kansas City and Omaha, their schedules jammed with local speakers and exhibits, including Les’s video as a small piece of a tremendous program. But as the keelboat moved further upriver and away from the cities, the speakers and the festivities waned yet Les’ video stayed with the Tent of Many Voices. It was seen by children and teachers at small towns all along the historic route. Towns like Kamiah, ID, a small village on the Nez Perce Reservation, where young children were able to watch the following video, which still holds up today.
By the time the Corps II returned through Kansas City two years later, I had moved into a different position and didn’t really get a chance to circle back with Les. I wish I had told him how amazing I thought it was that his efforts were seen by thousands…and how important it was in helping to show kids how history can be relevant to them, and to protection of the environment. Thanks Les.
Jeffery Robichaud is a second generation EPA scientist who has worked for the Agency since 1998. He currently serves as Deputy Director of EPA Region 7′s Environmental Services Division.
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
Snow Is Here (Somewhere, Sometime)
By Casey J. McLaughlin
Several weeks ago, I reviewed drought data for the summer and thought about how it compared to previous years; work got busy and I never finished the piece (and it rained). This weekend I saw pictures of my cousin’s new snow dragon (snowmen may be over-rated)! I keep telling my kids, “Winter is Coming” and I now have proof in the form of actual snow! I may be late realizing the change in weather (I was running in 60+ degree Thanksgiving weather!) here in Kansas City NOAA’s recent snowfall and depth maps verify that there is actual snow accumulation in Region 7! Unfortunately the snow hasn’t come to my corner, but I’ll go back north for Christmas hoping they save us some powder!
Curious as ever, I was curious about past snowfalls and spent some time using the U.S. Snow Monitoring Snowfall Maps (http://gis.ncdc.noaa.gov/maps/snowfall.map?view=rsi). I cobbled together a rough time series and casually looked for any geographic patterns. (Unfortunately, I did not get a snow index for 1954; my family watched White Christmas this weekend).
Snow in 2010 was focused on the Northeast with a band from North Dakota south into Alabama; 2002 shows a strong band of snow that moved across the central (Colorado, Kansas, Missouri on into the Northeast) states. A different snow pattern emerged (although I am moving in reverse order) in 1983 with snow in the Mountain West and Pacific Northwest while being absent from the Eastern U.S. (at least during the last week or so of December (24-29). A swing through the Southern states occurred in 1963.
Looking through the maps series, it really hit me that the bands of snow moved around the country. I am by no means an expert (Climatologists, speak up!) but I observed the national snow pattern moved around most parts of the continental U.S. giving almost everyone a white winter at some point in the last 100 years!
Casey McLaughlin is a first generation Geospatial Enthusiast who has worked with EPA since 2003 as a contractor and now as the Regional GIS Lead. He currently holds the rank of #1 GISer in EPA Region 7′s Environmental Services Division.
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
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