The Climate Data Initiative, a new program announced by the White House, will offer tools and resources to the general public and scientists to assist with efforts to combat global climate change.
Part of this initiative is a climate-change website, aimed at educating the public about climate change. Google, Intel, Microsoft and several other technology giants are working with administration officials to give additional tools to the public to address the problem of global warming.
The new drive is part of the "Climate Action Plan" announced in June by the President. The goal of this program is to reduce pollution, as well as ready towns and cities for extreme weather and climate change.
Government agencies will now have a central location, at www.data.gov/climate, where they can post warnings of coastal flooding and predicted sea level changes. The site is developed and managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NASA. It is currently in beta testing. Soon, that site will include other data on climate related-issues. These will include information on health, food supply and infrastructure.
The new initiative will help connect "regional and city planners, resource managers, farmers, hospitals, and businesses with data-driven tools to help them better understand, manage, and prepare for the real-world impacts associated with climate change. Maps of future sea-level rise, for instance, can help builders decide where to break ground out of harm's way, while other online tools can help water utility operators identify potential threats to the local water supply," wrote the White House in a press release.
The climate change website is hosted as part of Data.gov, an open data program, managed by the General Services Administration. A series of new maps will assist states and communities in preparing for disasters and rising temperatures. Information on hundreds of thousands of bridges, railway tunnels, roads, canals and other infrastructure was released to the website by the U.S. Geological Survey, with cooperation from the Department of Homeland Security.
Cloud computing and storage is the most common contribution from internet partners. Microsoft is donating a year of free cloud computing to 40 scientists, while Google has offered a petabyte (1,000 terabytes) of storage for the program. The internet giant will also make the maps and other tools available to the general public. These will provide near-real time modeling of droughts around the continental United States, as well as measure the uptake of water by vegetation across the planet.
Researchers can also compete in developing new climate-related applications in a trio of "hackathon" events, sponsored by Intel. These contests will focus on Chesapeake Bay, New Orleans and San Jose.
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