Rising Sea Levels…The Saltwater Solution

 

As glaciers melt, and sea levels rise, it’s not too soon to discuss where all the water will flow. As global warming and climate change increase their threat to low lying populated communities on each continent, immediate fresh thinking is in order about future water migration and containment. With this new challenge, opportunities need to be identified for engineers, architects and land planners to practice their crafts in bold and imaginative ways.

There is no doubt…with modern engineering and design techniques, civilization is poised for another great terrestrial engineering renaissance in its battle with higher water levels.

Building dikes, dams, aqueducts and levees in areas where such structures were once unthinkable will be common place over the next several decades. Structural defenses to the sea will be considered by local, state, regional and national governments as public awareness of high water threats to lowlands increases. It’s not too soon for the barrier islands and coastal areas of the United States to start planning for the challenge, and threat, of higher water levels.

By utilizing sustainable and proven engineering, nations and non-governmental organizations can re-direct water in substantial ways. Civilization has centuries of experience with this task. Dikes are already found along the sea in many places across the globe. Earthen walls to protect areas from the ocean date back to the Indus Valley civilization in Pakistan and Northern India. According to Wikipedia, they first appeared around 2600 BC. When most people think of dikes, they are reminded of the Netherlands, where they have been found since the 12th Century and are used to fight sea intrusion. Governments have used aqueducts (artificial channels that carry water) as early as the 7th century, BC. If built properly, their utility in diverting massive quantities of water is incredible. One ancient aqueduct, constructed by the Assyrians, ran 50 miles in length and was amazing for its time. Today the California Aqueduct flows over 444 miles. Levees date back to ancient Egypt and can be built to sustain hurricanes and other extreme forces of nature.

Usually, when one searches for web sites and blogs dealing with engineering and global warming, the results show how engineers are working proactively to reduce or eliminate our future carbon imprint through innovative technologies. But it is difficult to find articles on how how engineering and design can alter the Earth to cope with the tangible results of climate change. The field of engineering is experienced in the kind of challenges which lie ahead based upon centuries of accomplishments. It is evident that experts are up to the momentous task of managing and creating large bodies of water to serve as super retaining areas. In so doing, their efforts will stimulate economies and improve living conditions.

As coastal areas are threatened by rising seas, experts need to work with local and regional authorities to determine what kind of man-made protection systems can divert water and reduce prospects of flooding and salt water intrusion. New locations for lakes, dams, aqueducts, levees and dikes will be identified. Fresh thinking needs to be set in motion to find parts of the planet which can host unfathomable quantities of water in human created storage lakes which promote agriculture, economic development, create energy and help solve the effects of climate change.

Here’s one vision: Desert areas of Africa, North America, Australia and other locations may one day host massive state size man-made “super reservoirs” fed by flood ways designed to contain and control rising waters from other parts of the continents, while at the same time producing square miles of edible plants and the raw materials of biofuels. These new “Great Lakes” offer exciting economic and development prospects. By working against the rising seas, engineers and architects can forge new paths to enhance food production, fight poverty and combat disease by employing the water they divert.

On February 14, 2009, the Arizona Daily Star published an article entitled, “Researcher sees an ocean of possibilities with seawater irrigation.” Describing the work of Carl Hodges (see top video), the report stated, “He wants to grow millions of acres of plants in the middle of the desert using seawater – a plan that he says ultimately would lower rising sea levels, halt global warming and provide jobs for millions of people in developing countries.” Hodges’ work is already being done in Eritrea on the horn of Africa. (See video below). There strategies and technologies employed by Hodges have produced a massive sea farm which harvests fish and shrimp. This innovative type of agriculture is also at work in Sonora, Mexico, using water from the Sea of Cortez. (See middle video).

Is it too far fetched to imagine the Sahara desert of North Africa as a massive reservoir hosting water from the Atlantic that will change the face of nations and enhance the lives of growing populations? Not at all. On April 26, 2007, National Geographic News reported the Darfur region in Sudan once housed a giant lake, probably the size of Lake Erie, and scientists are looking for remaining underground water sources to help assist refugees. Under the pressure of global warming, we can replace the Sahara lake bed and transform other desert areas into vital sources of life. Desalinization plants may not be needed in all areas, given the technology of the Seawater Foundation, which is headed by Hodges, a 72 year-old visionary.

Surely conventional geopolitics would be substantially altered by this new engineered geography, but with ice caps melting, and glaciers drifting to liquid, and with small islands starting to fear for their existence, the fight against effects global warming offers opportunities for lasting man-made solutions. Besides governments, politicians and scientists, the burden to face the future with bold and innovative measures is in the hands of architects, engineers and structural experts. International cooperation is needed to marshal the resources of all relevant disciplines to start immediate planning for massive water diversion.

We cannot wait to face the future. We can create new rivers, canals and sea beds across world’s coastal interiors and should use the threat of rising sea levels to start solving existing and future global problems. The urgency of climate change will spur terrestrial development with excess water which will be used to enrich the planet, and mitigate the negative consequences of an altered climate.

Generalities and Detail…Views of Fragile and Divided Earth

“We think in generalities…we live in detail.”- Alfred North Whitehead. 

With this collection of images are some of the planetary details we share.  

Astronaut Sunita Williams holds the record as the longest orbiting female, having circled Earth for 195 days aboard the International Space Station. Like famed space traveller John Glenn, Williams is from Ohio. Her pictures give impressive and unique views of the world, from dust storms to the approach of night…where we jointly emit signs of our existence to the galaxy surrounding us but give no clues of the vast differences separating our populations.

View this document on Scribd

Connection: Threats of Military Conflict and Evolution of the Internet

It is enlightening to see how the launch of Sputnik 1 and the Cuban Missle Crisis were catalysts in the development of the Internet. 

When humans perceive threats they are often at their most creative means.

This observation begs the question…What will we develop tomorrow in light of today’s threats?

This brief video, directed and animated by Melih Bilgil, a visual artist from Germany, was found on VisualThink Map.

Social Networking and Recovery From the Great Hurricane of 2009

The morning after was like waking up from Katrina all over again. Most structures  were reduced to pieces in the aftermath of the Category 4 hurricane, which gave only three days warning as to its intended path. Hundreds of thousands of residents were displaced, and many were missing. Drinking water was scarce, and food supplies were interrupted. Residents knew it would be months before any sense of normalcy could even be envisioned.

FEMA was responding as quickly as it could, but the enormity of the logistical and bureaucratic task slowed meaningful aid for days.  America was mobilizing, once again, in the wake of a great natural disaster.

But this time it was entirely different.

Immediately after the full extent of the cyclonic nightmare was realized, high energy groups of organizers worked on Twitter to organize hurricane relief, item-by-item and project-by-project. Contacts with local governmental officials were made and innovative coordination soon followed. Those ready to help energetically focused on re-building houses. Others concentrated on sending food.

After a severe ice storm in 2008, social media made a difference.

Still more collected clothing for immediate distribution. There were efforts to re-open critical businesses, like super markets. Spontaneous groups from around the United States, indeed the world, organized with government officials in a matter of hours to designate drop off points, arrange for transportation of supplies and goods, and worked to collect needed funds for the Red Cross and other organizations that were ready to intercede on the front lines of recovery.

Suddenly, in the curious language of Twitter, “#hurricane” became the most vital collection of letters on the internet.

Live steaming video channels were developed, in a matter of minutes, on UStream.tv and JustIn.tv, devoted to serving as responsible voices to assist in information flow, including  search and recovery efforts. The shows were staffed by volunteers who took their tasks very seriously… and web sites were used to supplement the live video effort and post missing person, volunteer and rebuilding information by providing detailed information, victim by victim, of what was needed to recover.  Twitter also linked to those sites, and spread the word with its informative 140 character efficiency.

Teams of ordinary citizens, with the sole mission of digitally imaging and documenting where and how assistance was needed, entered the widely affected geographical region and teamed with private Internet service providers to help build electronic data bases of crippled municipalities and their needs. At the same time, cell towers were being repaired and mobile cell installations were being transported to reconnect the region. Google, Ask.com, Yahoo and Bling set up special pages linking to all the emergency recovery information there was to read.

Special web broadcast mapping software tracked the progress of relief efforts, and showed, on a daily basis, that some areas were not getting the aid they needed. Updated maps, based upon real-time and analytical analysis (courtesy Google Analytics and ArcView)  showing damaged utilities, the approximate number of homes and apartments destroyed, and the number of people reporting medical emergencies were developed. They were updated daily to accurately pinpoint the sections of towns with the most need. In response, social networking groups were able to launch aid efforts block by block, like never before. Health care was delivered more efficiently as mobile clinics knew where to go as disease outbreaks appeared, and roads were cleared earlier to enable them to get there. Through these combined efforts, this sped up aid to the lesser known areas of need. 

Groups devoted to housing hurricane weary individuals mobilized better, in part, due to the fastest information gathering campaign in natural disaster history.

As cellular service started to pick up in ground zero, mobile texting and cellular video reports about the recovery were posted on line. Fresh from the Iran uprising of June and earlier events in Africa, technology helped filter the reliability of the never-ending crisis data.

General Motors OnStar and other “connected vehicle communication services” were used to wirelessly link from the impacted areas and helped serve as unintended reporters of conditions for governmental and civilian recovery efforts.

Emergency Management officials posted their printed and published needs on Scribd in a special group devoted to hurricane recovery, and updated them.

Facebook, Twitter and Flickr groups linked hurricane relief videos and channels to You Tube, Current TV, AOL, andVimeo.  I-Reporters were everywhere for CNN.  Translation for international blog readers was provided by GlobalVoicesOnline.org and Google.  Newsvine and Reuters AlertNet.org did their part and updated foreign audiences about the need for help.

Groups such as AllForGood.org registered volunteers by the thousands, with a speed that was previously unimaginable, aided by all the post disaster social media outlets.

The White House, using its website, offered information from Washington, and FEMA instantly became partnered with responsible citizen disaster information services in its efforts to avoid the mistakes of Katrina and enhance the recovery.

Bloggers on WordPress and other services reported not only the needs of the hurricane target area, but what their local groups were doing, and updated them sometimes more than once a day. Even the Governors and Attorney Generals of the affected states opened up live video channels to broadcast important legal information about price gouging and state relief efforts on the net. 

It was true.  The nation was “networked leveraged” for recovery.

No longer was it necessary for local print newspapers to take days to plead for help once the printing pressers were put back together. This time voices and cries for help were heard instantly and the response was profound.  The varied electronic efforts comprised a spontaneous collection of good will initiatives that alerted the world to the vast devastation. Just as in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, private industry and non-governmental organizations stepped in to push relief to meaningful and expedited levels. Satellite transmissions to and from the affected region were set up while land lines were just beginning to be restored. Combined with private telecommunications efforts, contact with ”dead zones” was soon made. Soon the electronic effort covered all regions, not just those outside the Hurricane’s target. 

As the efforts continued, web conferences between individuals and groups were set up on Go-To-Meeting and Acrobat Connect to further coordinate relief delivery efforts. Internet radio stations broadcast on Pandora and other broadcast protals which were devoted to recovery efforts sprang up and helped with the increasing information flow and emergency fund raising.

Soon, because of all the interconnected Internet activities, the missing were located, and the efforts to replant the displaced were excelled because of the innovative role of disaster relief social networking. 

Internet collaboration after Katrina produced housing alternatives.

Six months following the start of the efforts, FEMA held summit of the Internet relief organizations, and a review was done to see what was learned. The conclusion: The new media, through its crowd sourcing capabilities, helped America recover much faster, and in ways no one thought were possible just a few years prior.

Yes, in 2009, social media gave a whole new name to disaster relief and recovery. In 2010 and the years that followed, special cell phone sensors helped track geographical areas for recovery data immediately before and after hurricanes by monitoring weather conditions and population flow. (See the Economist article, “Sensors and sensitivity” in the June 6, 2009 edition).  The effort was not limited to the United States, but was used in the Philippines, Latin America and the Far East.  In the years since, technological innovations continued to provide even greater tools…

At the dawn of the internet…we had no idea how useful it would become in times of devastation or how we could leverage it to recover from Mother Nature.

June 13, 2009: Another Journalistic Shift (Again) From Iran

As Iranian society unfolded, new and immediate news was reported without the networks, from a much more compelling, and unfiltered perspective. Not since the Iranian revolution of 1979, which produced ABC's "Nightline," has broadcast journalism been so challenged.

As history developed second after second on Twitter’s river of information about events in post-election Iran, it was clear that June 13, 2009 was another journalistic game-changer.

Not since 1979, when American hostages were the focus of the world for 444 days, had events changed reporting so dramatically.  We have come a long way from the creation of “Nightline” on ABC, which was born amid the tensions of the hostage drama. The ground breaking 30 minute news show on events is now ancient media. Yesterday, along with the cries for change and protest emanating from the streets of Tehran, we witnessed severe international media frustration and another backlash…Hundreds of thousands asked why CNN was only reporting for brief snipets on what was clearly history in the making? Why was Christiane Amanpour  given so little air time? Why was MSNBC in a coma? How can we know what is happening…now?

The networks failed their responsibilities in reporting this crucial day. CNN’s use of I-Reports was not enough for a trusted news organization. MSNBC was completely irrelevant for too long a period of time. Americans interested in story depth had to go to the BBC for understanding if they wanted a traditional reporting source.

The Iranian election turmoil is a media shifting event. At least for awhile, Cable News Network viewers in America wanted to know about the struggle of Mousavi, not the tired and frustrating debate about health care. The documentaries of MSNBC were simply not relevant.

If you wanted to know about what was happening on the ground, social media was just about the only way to keep informed on Saturday. Reports from Twiterizens, with their digital cameras, were cascading second after second from the troubled country, and it was social media 2.0 that was the eyewitness to turmoil. No longer paramount in reporting news, cable news lost information hungry minds who instead focused, for hours, on Internet portals You Tube, Flickr, Facebook and yes, Twitter. Others soon entered the electronic front line, such as GlobalVoicesOnline.org, Twitpic and even Wikipedia. There were some new media absentees, to be sure. Oddly, no one was using UStreamtv or Justin.tv to broadcast reports about the rushing events. 

The reporting  from the Iranian street was instant, surprisingly accurate (based upon cumulative reports), and graphic. It was transmitted courtesy average Iranian citizens and professional journalists (who had no air time),  in the thick of things, and it made Twitter the singular focus of the world. Angry protesters, not all young, were moving down avenues. Police were using severe force in response. Deaths were being reported. Streets were illuminated by the fury of threatening fires. Communication blackouts were looming. Cameras were being confiscated. Arrests of opposition leaders were rumored. Was it true? Twitter reports were verified by links to fresh video on You Tube. Still pictures were being posted on blogs and other sites with a fury. Collectively, one could see that what might be dubious accounts from unknown sources were indeed telling an accurate story.

It was clear that the new media had moved into a new dimension. Rather than relying on the traditional gate keepers of the great news networks, those who sought information became enmeshed in a new era of journalism…”social news media 2.0.” All one had to do was link to #iranelection” on Twitter and the reader was an eyewitness to a key geopolitical event.

Those who regularly use Twitter were themselves astonished. Writing the next day, one observer  commented, “Short story: Election went bad. Iran went to hell. Media went to bed.” Another shouted, “I am so sick of vital news being ignored!” Still another vented, “This is why I love the Internet. 400 Channels + on TV not one talking about the Iranian elections.” The anger was not confined to America. One June 14 post on Twitter complained, “Kinda pissed the #IranElection riots is not making Australian news at all.” As the street fires and protests continued, a new protest broke out. It could be found as a trending topic, again on Twitter, entitled #CNNFail. Said one frustrated viewer, “Please mark all your #IranElection tweets with an extra #CNNFail tag to force CNN cover Iran’s incidents.” Perhaps the most telling comment appeared as SharedEmergencywas preparing this article…”BREAKING NEWS FROM CNN: ZZZZzzzzz ZZZZzzzzz ZZZZzzzz ZZZZZzzzzz.”

Citizen journalist videos from the Iranian street were transmitted to a world wide audience with all deliberate speed on YouTube.

Clearly Twitter was being used for more than just alerting others to a new chapter in Iran. Social media was an instrument to rally opponents of the government. One Twitter post on June 14 read, “Stay united, stay together, march and be as one! Freedom is your choice, not a vote!”  Indeed, there were appropriate, and needed, calls for verification of sources to be sure of their credibility, since anyone with an agenda can post a Tweet at no expense. In journalism, credibility is everything. The messages need to be filtered and the stories checked out, a point which clearly makes social media news reporting vulnerable.

That Twitter was being used in a political event, and needed to be carefully understood, is not news. It was the immediacy and inherent risk of citizen journalists reporting the story that took events to a new level and which took on an air of needed trustworthiness. One writer exclaimed, ” Twitter @Change_for_Iran – He’s currently giving a clandestine minute by minute update of what is happening at one University in Iran, though I believe he’s risking his life doing so.” Another warned, “Rumors tell that 30.000 of IRGC anti-riot forces are ready in Sarallah Military Base in Tehran. #IranElection #CNNFail.”

What went on behind the scenes at the news networks on June 13 will ultimately be the subject of chronicles posted on new media. By June 14, CNN was promising better coverage. What develops with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will be clear in the weeks and months ahead. But what is abundantly evident today is that new media demands are surpassing the old masters of technology, in a newsworthy and critical fashion. Along with this new role, citizen news gatherers need to adhere to a strict code of credibility standards if their new soap box is to be taken seriously, and the cable networks need to take heed and avoid any more Iranian “Pearl Harbors.”

Improperly covered events are bad news for the world. As journalism struggles for a new footing, how Iran was covered is a red flag for established news organizations.

 

Preserving and Cherishing the “Pale Blue Dot.”

No one except the great Carl Sagan could put it so eloquently. There is no parallel to how special yet insignificant we are in this universe.  As planetary inhabitants, will get no help from other distant civilizations. We are dependent upon our own minds and initiatives…through our diverse yet singular efforts.  

Yet, as we deal with the first pandemic of the 21st Century, worry about poverty, hunger, climate change, great storms, nuclear arms, extremist elements and grapple with an economic crisis of great magnitude, we forget how important science is to the future of human kind as we try to survive day by day. Each day is a test, a battle of sorts, to persist and thrive.

That we have been given the gift of being able to achieve ways to travel through space to discover new worlds, peer into and invade the tiny inner space of the body and develop vast stores of knowledge is truly incomprehensible from the perspective shared by Dr. Sagan in his Earth-centric yet universal poetry.  Yes, we do have  a responsibility to the dot which sustains us.  From our one spec in a far corner of the known universe, there is all that we know, share, fear and love.  But we also have been given the opportunity and burden to learn, and grow and protect our world.

This is why basic research and the new emphasis on science is so important…and vital to our future.  We live in the most exiting of times. The pixel that is Earth shares many emergencies, but all can be surmounted, with education, understanding and strong will. That Washington is newly engaged in research and science is exhilerating and exciting.

And guess what. We are preserving the “pale blue dot,” however inartfully and immaturely.  With every mis-step, we are learning, growing, and figuring things out. We are moving forward, inch by inch, and finding our collective way. We are achieving in greater bounds, at velocities previously unknown and unfathomable.  We have mapped the human genome. We have developed cures for diseases. We have expanded the ability to analyze, create and express. We have learned to reach out to each other and permeate great barriers. We are on the verge of understanding dimensions of which only science fiction writers could dare to dream.

Carl’s message was to be responsible to the dot. Despite our wars, our frailties, societal mistakes and injustices, we are comprehending how to exercise the caretaker role Dr. Sagan quietly reminds us we must maintain.  As society advances, it is heeding the call of the cosmos to act intelligently. But there’s much more to do, and the more we learn, the more we achieve, the more we recognize there is so much to do, and little time for each generation to accomplish what must be done. You and I are on a journey of trial and error…but one of preservation, so exquisitely mapped by the words of Dr. Sagan.

Take a few moments. Explore the CarlSagan Portal. His cognitive expressions mean so much, and are a blend of art, music, science, physics, math, knowledge, philosophy and compassion. We miss you Carl, but your thoughts resonate with us daily. 

For more on Dr. Sagan and his legacy, transport yourself here.  How is government reacting to this challenge? See the Obama commitment to research and education policy.

A Planet In An Escalating Race With Itself…

This Radio InfoGraphic makes the point.  Where’s it all going and what are the implications?

Video courtesy of Visual Think Map and Radio InfoGraphic.

Streaming Flight Data…Creating An Aerial Central Nervous System To Save Lives

In this Web 3.0 age, why must we rely on short bursts of data from a downed airliner to help us piece together what happened and learn how to prevent future tragedies?

In the fatal moments before Air France Flight 447 became aviation history, at least 24 automatic messages received at the Air France operation headquarters in Paris reportedly signaled electrical failure and loss of cabin pressure. Except for these tiny puzzle pieces, a much wider range of information is contained in the submerged flight data recorder (FDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR), otherwise known as “black boxes.” If ever retrieved from their ocean resting place, it may be too late to learn the secrets within. Black boxes can be limited in their usefulness, as seen in the AP video (below) about a Qantas mishap in 2008.

The ill-fated flight emitted the short messages by means of the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS), which transmits digital data to ground stations by satellite or radio signals. The automated signaling system is built upon 1978 technology. According to AviationWeek.com on June 5, “ACARS content only shows what systems and computers malfunctioned, but there’s no information yet available about what actually happened to important parameters such as airspeed, altitude or pitch angle during the last few minutes of the flight.”

A race against the calendar is underway by an international team of investigators, which includes use of a French nuclear submarine, to find the flight data and voice recorders. They are looking for a “pinger” which emits signals to help locate the data units, but the signal may last only 30 days from the time it starts. The signal is the path to over 400 pieces of information contained within the black boxes.

Introduced in the 1950’s, flight data recorders have been improved to a new generation of digital flight data acquisition units. Over time, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has required more data be captured, such as time, altitude, airspeed, vertical acceleration, heading, time of radio transmissions, pitch and roll attitude, longitudinal acceleration, control column or pitch control surface position and engine thrust. Read a history of flight data recorders and FAA requirements from Boeing.com. To improve recovery of vital information, proposals for deployable FDR’s and CVR’s, designed to avoid the impact of the crash, have been made. See National Transportation Safety Board 1999 article by P. Robert Austin. Cockpit video recorders have also been proposed to enhance safety, but no one is suggesting that such images are available from flight 447.

We have come too far to accept outmoded technology in modern aircraft. As amazing as black box technology has become, the process of collecting reliable system metrics requires the application of new approaches. Why should future lives depend upon whether or not marine operations can retrieve two orange (correct, they are not black) units from the bottom of one of the deepest sea beds within a 30 day period?

The quest for information from 447 is telling. To be sure, about 4 minutes of limited information was transmitted from the plane as it descended into the ocean. These “bursts” of information are just not enough to pinpoint a cause. If short and one dimensional automated messages can be emitted from an airliner in trouble, why can’t airlines deploy multi-data systems to emit messages that wirelessly stream, as events unfold, from a plane in imminent peril?  It can be done, and it must.

If this were a perfect world, all commercial airplanes would be constantly streaming data to huge super computers which would analyze data to look for trends and early warning signs of forthcoming technical and mechanical problems, aircraft by aircraft. It would be a sort of living history of each plane, its operations and performance. In short, such a system would involve live “aviation analytics” instead of the current “Twitter” approach to short, limited messages that give only a hint as to what transpired.

This is not a new concept. NASA published a report in January, 2000 on a “data turbine” designed to provide “constantly updated information about an aircraft and its surroundings.” Part of the space agency’s Aviation Safety Program, the system was designed to signal when something indicated a potential safety hazard. It was also designed to be one step beyond the traditional black box technology as it allowed “immediate access to information that may or may not be recoverable from a flight data recorder following an aircraft crash.” The system was to be tested in 2001 with a satellite in geosynchronous orbit. This exciting technology has not been deployed on commercial aircraft, and it is too late for the lost souls on the Airbus A330-200 in the Atlantic, which was delivered to Air France in April, 2005. 

The problem, of course, is cost and scale. With thousands of planes with their avionic hearts pulsating in the skies every minute…worldwide…it might be considered “pie in the sky” thinking to implement such a central nervous system of constant virtual flight data information. Considering how many satellites, data centers, computers, software upgrades would be involved, and how much data would be streaming, along with the expense of doing so, we need to lower expectations. We can, nonetheless, still markedly improve in-flight data technology for mid and post flight analysis. At the same time, the data streaming should be two-way. Shockingly, according to one published report on June 5, the Air France crew had no way to receive real-time weather data from satellites.

What if on-board streaming flight and pilot data could be activated by the crew as soon as a problem manifests itself or at the slightest hint of a potential concern? It could be broadcast from the aircraft to satellite and land-based receivers, monitored and recorded in real-time. Such a system would not be perfect, as it would be dependent upon human activation and might not capture the proximate cause of the incident. However, in those situations where the orange boxes were not recovered the data would provide a much greater wealth of information than is available when they cannot be found or recovered. Instead of constantly monitoring of thousands of aircraft, only those airplanes in trouble would use this kind of network and bandwidth. On-board recorders could still be used, but their captured data would  longer be the sole source of in-flight clues of what went wrong.

Obviously, I am not a flight engineer or an FAA technician. I’m just a passenger who appreciates the opportunities presented by this terabyte age. We are all familiar with the horrifying stories of passengers in September, 2001, talking on their cell phones before their flights tragically ended. They reported what was happening, live, in crucial minutes. If passengers can report information via cell phone technology, sophisticated flight decks can do the same at a higher technological level. We can expand on the passenger cell phone example and integrate collectible flight data into “as it happens” reporting to convey valuable information about malfunctions and errors.

If we can do this with GM’s Onstar (satellite linked system for terrestrial vehicles) we can do it in the troposphere. Certainly, we can move past reliance upon the collection of vital aerial information stored on hard to find and limiting boxes which merely record history and do not afford proactive opportunities to avoid heart breaking disasters.

Black boxes save lives because we learn from them. All we need is the will to develop and deploy a new generation of aircraft reporting technology. In so doing, we will save countless lives and Air France Flight 447 will leave a legacy of safety improvement for future generations of crews and passengers.

Quotes for the Inquisitive

Sometimes the shortest quotes can stimulate the greatest thoughts.

SharedEmergency found this slideshow from Tony Vincent on SlideShare.net. It contains nineteen quotes by thinkers and educators, and is presented for your cognitive encouragement. After all, it is only through education that we can conquer our greatest challenges.

 

Seeds, Just Seeds

Only a roof top was visible after the Typhoon. The end of a village mandated the beginning of new agriculture...through seed planting. (Photo by Arnulfo).

It was November 30, 2006, and all hell had fallen on a small village near a volcano on the island of Luzon in the Philippines.  Homes were buried under feet of volcanic mud in the aftermath of one of the most devastating Typhoons in recent history.

At least a thousand people were dead, but we may never know how many actually perished. Many were encased under thick tons of mud, never to be found again. Nearly all hope that life would return to some semblance of normalcy was fading quickly.

At that time, SharedEmergency was publishing post-disaster pleas for help from victims of mother nature. When Typhoon Durian ravaged the Bicol Region of the island nation, few outsiders knew of the extreme tragedy. Those who heard about the powerful killer storm wondered what they could do, and how. Many of us felt utterly helpless…  The question was, “What could we do to help?”

Then it came…a brief e-mail dated January 25, 2007.  It was a short but telling message from a determined survivor…named Arnulfo.  His plea, “Volcanic debris were washed down by heavy rains burying thousands of houses, killing thousands and hundreds missing.  Affecting school building, roads, bridges, and agricultural lands. Bicol Region is an agricultural land, a lot of people lost their livelihood. It will be good if we supplement seedlings to plant like rice and vegetable seedlings.”

Arnulfo did not want money. He did not want clothing. He did not want canned food. He, and his community (what was not buried) just wanted seeds. Only seeds. A simple plea for a constructive start to rebuild.

Something so basic as the means to grow new crops and initiate agricultural recovery is a compelling concept, but not a new one.  Many non-governmental organizations through the years have worked to restore crops in the days following human made and natural disasters to enable self-sufficiency and rejuvinate local economies. Governments have seeded such efforts as well. See 1998 Japanese study about the need for seed production in war affected areas in Bosnia and Herzegovnia. 

The importance of seeds as a tool for relief cannot be understated. As global warming produces drought and farm lands are threatened with rising sea levels, ensuring biodiversity through the protection of plant and crop growth is crucial.  Saving plants, through efforts like  the Millennium Seed Bank (see TED video above), is crucial for the future, and for all those like Arnulfo (and maybe you and I, one day) affected by present day disasters.

Next time a disaster strikes…think seeds.