PlanetCitizen

Planet Citizen

PlanetCit News: August 2014

An API for the Planet #PlanetLabs Open Source Conference keynote #Earth360 #PlanetCitizen

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About Planet Citizen

The way we observe and 'feel' about our planet is changing in one generation. Beginning with the first 'Whole Earth' pictures relayed from the Apollo voyages to the Moon, we have for the first time in history experienced a vision of our planet from afar -- a 'blue' oasis in space.

Now, thirty + years after Apollo sent us images of Planet Earth, we have for the first time found everyday 'citizens of the planet' planning to go into space and send images and an array of views of our planet. Small satellites launched by new start-up companies are changing our vision of home. Apollo's famous iconic images are now being added to with libraries of new ways to see us -- and to work toward our securing our environment for ages to come.

A coming new era of #planetearth exploration, using the tools of the digital age and Internet connectivity, is making it possible to see Planet Earth, our home, in new ways, intelligence reports in effect that will change our knowledge and perceptions of who we are and how we look out at our shared, common future. The worldwide web and larger Internet are linking up and connecting us, in our homes, communities, nations, private and public, and the content is streaming visions that have never before been seen. Our vision of our whole earth is changing the way we look at security and bringing 'new definition of national and international security.' It is as if "Security is indivisible" and the commons, the whole earth, has a newly developing place in the prior order of security definitions.

Earth science data are beginning to flow and, in historic ways, are being openly, publicly distributed far beyond the restrictive policies of previous times when military and communication satellites and their closed-loop systems dominated space and space-earth data.

Today #earthsciences are at the cusp of a rich new world of information provided by micro- and mini-satellites. As we share these new planet images, data, experiences and the realizations that are coming that take us to new ways of seeing and cognitively 'understanding', we can be certain of a new, growing awareness of our planet and our 'citizenship' together.

Even now, we have inklings of what is coming. Let's look at one called OCO-2. With the launch of OCO-2, a "game changer", in the summer of 2014, the data of #Earth360 will grow in unprecedented ways as this first 'orbiting observatory' of global warming conditions takes to space and begins to report home - I am OCO-2

Although the Orbiting Carbon Observatory is just the beginning, the future of looking at our borderless-from-space planet and coming generations of common-travel to space, and space-imaging opening up amazing views, with 3D and big-screens and home theaters, and educational and scientific information about our communities being shared, and linked to, and distributed by the net, we will soon be watching the smiles of more and more citizens of the planet.

Onto first steps... we are all connected and wherever we are, geographically, nationally, we share a common ground. Let's look at our home, but let's look with an 'overview' from space, where we can see the 'Big Picture' and we can zoom in and look at the details, our earth resources and how to manage our resources to sustain quality of life.

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The Big Picture: Earth from Space

The world of space is a world in flux, new players are challenging the old system of governments who can afford the billions to enter exploration and usage of space. Now we have barriers to entry being broken and start-up companies are launching flocks of birds into space. Earth monitoring is a planetary and our interests are planetary. Borders seem invisible as borders are invisible from space. Ideas that look at connectivity are growing in value and security interests that speak of security as indivisible are making more and more sense in this new vision of a new world that is connected, not just by the worldwide Internet but by understanding that is growing beyond the old norms, the tribal way, ancient antagonisms, traditional security interests.

Let's go there, to this new world, not a 'new world order' but a world that is being connected and is sharing, linking and seeing the bigger picture.

Let's start by looking at an astro-space establishment, the images of earth and data about earth being sent back to us from space, both by the 'establishment'/government satellites and the 'New Space' companies that are now coming into the light.

Start with NEX, tt's sort of NASA's version of crowdsourcing. NASA's getting social and going digital. Ready? Are you interested in using your digital skills to help the government/NASA with environmental security? Perhaps you might start here - The NEX Challenge

Add your talent to the grand project of seeing with an EarthPOV -- so that we can make informed decisions and policy... [1]

Observe, consider, act - "The Big Picture"

Earth Right Now

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August 11, 2014

SETI Institute: Citizens of planet Earth typically watch meteor showers by looking up. But this remarkable view, captured on 8/13/11 by astronaut Ron Garan, caught a Perseid meteor by looking down. From Garan's perspective onboard the ISS orbiting at an altitude of about 380 kilometers, the Perseid meteors streak below. The glowing comet dust grains are traveling at about 60 kilometers per second through the denser atmosphere around 100 kilometers above Earth's surface. [2]

Science News from space [3] Come to think of it - Where is Bruce Dern these days? Silent Running and...

Douglas Trumbull's VFX vision in Silent Running and beyond continues on in our memory banks [4] [5] [6] [7]

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