MIAMI, FL (February 28, 2011) – Concise Conferences, LLC. will be hosting a Vertical Farming Conference with some of the world's best known experts in the field, (there is no registration fee).

Vertical Farming is a concept that argues that it is economically and environmentally viable to cultivate plant or animal life within skyscrapers or high rise buildings. With 60% of the world's rising population now living in urban areas, the demand to produce food efficiently and environmentally friendly has never been greater.

The organizers have recruited five of best known personalities in this space.

Hans Hassle is a pioneer in Corporate Social Responsibility and CEO of Plantagon. January 20th 2011, Plantagon signed a letter of intent with the Botkyrka municipality in Sweden for establishing a vertical greenhouse. The construction of a vertical greenhouse in Botkyrka, (Sweden) will be one of the first of its kind within the Vertical Farming concept.

Dr. Dickson Despommier, Ph.D. is a full-time professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at Columbia University and arguably the best known personality within the community.

Gordon Graff is responsible for designing the Toronto Skyfarm. The Toronto Skyfarm is a self-sustaining, low impact system, equipped with its own bio-gas plant able to produce methane from its own waste which could be burned to generate its own electricity.

Nick Brustatore is a partner at Converted Organics & Owner of TerraSphere Systems LLC. Nick is an eco-entrepreneur and owner of a series of green tech and socially responsible companies. His team have rolled out several exciting initiatives that include models in waste management, energy saving technology, recycling, upcycling, and vertical farming.

Stephen Fane is the CEO of Valcent Products Inc. Stephen became a hydroponic greenhouse entrepreneur twenty years ago. In 1990, he acquired a five-acre hydroponic greenhouse operation that produced bell peppers, which he expanded to over 75 acres under glass.

This is an online conference starting at 12pm February 28th. Follow this link for more information and to register: http://bit.ly/eIK1mY

Concise Courses LLC, (Trading as Concise Conferences)
http://www.concise-conferences.com/vertical-farming.html
Media: Max Dalziel, max@concise-conferences.com
900 Biscayne Boulevard
Suite 4302
Miami, FL 33132
1.800.620.0950

Environmental health is not limited to plants and animals – it also encompasses human well-being in relation to the natural world. Just because a substance is naturally occurring does not mean it cannot be a pollutant. Some plants give off VOCs, the same dangerous substances found in certain paints and solvents, and so should not be kept in unventilated indoor environments. Another natural material that humans have turned into a pollutant, an extremely fire-resistant mineral whose use has dire consequences for both human and environmental health.

If asked, most Americans will likely say that asbestos is dangerous, but they may mistakenly think it is no longer used in the United States. They also may or may not know that it is the main cause of mesothelioma, a rare and aggressive cancer of the lining of the chest or abdomen. Mesothelioma symptoms may take between 20 and 50 years to manifest after asbestos exposure, so we are just now seeing an upswing in the numbers of cases thanks to the ubiquity of asbestos in construction and manufacturing industries through the majority of the 20th century.

The International Ban Asbestos Secretariat routinely compiles a list of the countries that have placed a ban on the use of asbestos. The most recent list is from January of this year, and the United States isn’t on it. In 1989, the EPA issued a ban on most asbestos-containing products, but the ban was overturned by New Orleans’ Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Asbestos is regulated under the Clean Air Act and the Toxic Substances Control Act, but certain materials are still allowed to contain more than 1% asbestos, and the EPA does not oversee the manufacture, processing, or distribution of these products.

To see the devastation that asbestos causes, you have only to look to the vermiculite mines in the small town of Libby, Montana. Mining itself can be extremely detrimental to the environment, as the land is often stripped of vegetation and then polluted with runoff. While vermiculite is not dangerous in itself, it is often found in the same deposits as asbestos, and miners are exposed when they break up the rocks to harvest the vermiculite. Though the EPA had been aware of the asbestos-related health problems in Libby since 1978, the mine remained open until 1990 and the cleanup did not begin until 1999. To date, it is the nation’s deadliest Superfund site, with over 400 deaths directly attributable to the mines. The clean-up is ongoing, and will most likely continue for at least the next few years.

Mesothelioma symptoms, which have been documented as occurring in animals as well as humans, are serious, and the average life expectancy after diagnosis is only 9-12 months. Doubling this tragedy is the fact that approximately 80% of mesothelioma cases are preventable by avoiding exposure to asbestos. The EPA needs to use a firmer hand in regulating the toxic mineral, keeping careful track of its use until it can be phased out entirely and replaced with alternative insulating materials that are just as energy-efficient. Though asbestos itself is cheap, the cost on human and natural health is more than we can bear.

Another step in the right direction towards a cleaner more sustainable Portland, Solarize North and Solarize Northwest are projects to help homeowners in Portland dive into alternative energy. The goal is to make purchasing solar power more affordable by grouping entire neighborhoods together with volume purchases - and thereby reducing costs. The projects have full support from Neighbors West- Northwest Coalition (NWNW), North Portland Neighborhood Services (NPNS), City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, and the Energy Trust of Oregon.

North and Northwest Portland area homeowners looking to control their energy costs by using solar electricity have a new helping hand to guide them through the steps of a home installation. Solarize Northwest and Solarize North Portland are two new grassroots, community-based projects coordinated by Neighbors West -Northwest and North Portland Neighborhood Services.

With almost eight megawatts (MW) of solar power installed across the city (enough energy to power almost 700 homes) - Portlanders have helped prevent 4,000 metric tons of carbon emissions. The City of Portland is nearing its goal for installing 10 MW by 2012. There are currently 600 residential solar electric systems (also known as photovoltaics or PV), totaling 1.6 MW, installed in Portland. The growth of the local residential market has experienced a 400 percent increase in installations from 2008 to 2010.

For more information about the history of the Solarize programs, visit http://www.portlandonline.com/bps/solarize

Free workshops makes going solar easy and affordable

Solarize Portland neighborhood projects are designed to simplify the process of going solar and bring cost reductions through volume purchasing. Free workshops make the process easy to understand by covering topics such as the size of system to purchase, budgeting and financing, and how to get started.

View the schedule of free workshops in North Portland:
http://www.solarizenorth-nw.org/workshops-north

View the schedule of free workshops in Northwest Portland:
http://www.solarizenorth-nw.org/workshops

Online enrollment for both group purchase projects is now open at http://www.solarizenorth-nw.org and closes March 31, 2011.

The City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability and the nonprofit organization Energy Trust of Oregon are working together to support the launch of Solarize Northwest and North Portland, and can help any Portland neighborhood associations or groups interested in operating Solarize projects. For these two projects, the City of Portland is providing strategic assistance and coordination, and Energy Trust is providing technical assistance and cash incentives to help lower the upfront cost of the solar electric systems. Also, Solar Oregon is offering educational workshops and providing database services.

We here at The Environmental Blog wanted to introduce you to Indow Windows http://www.indowwindows.com, which is a new environmental product company that has recently launched in Portland this last winter. They make a thermal window insert that just presses into place on the inside of a window frame to upgrade the thermal performance of a single pane window to almost be equivalent to a standard double pane.

They are addressing a huge environmental problem with their product! Buildings are the number one consumers of energy and windows are the number one source of energy loss from Buildings. 55 million residences in the United States and about 650,000 residence in Oregon still have single pane windows.

Indow Windows has worked hard to create an easy to use, affordable, and aesthetically pleasing product that delivers huge energy savings. You can visit Indows Windows website to see how their product works.

They have done an installation at People's Yoga up on Killingsworth Avenue and they are super pleased with the increased comfort, lower energy bills, and dramatically reduced noise from trucks and busses passing in front of their studio on Killingsworth in Portland. Indow Windows reduce sound transmission by 50%, which was huge for them.

Have you ever wanted to learn about solar power but you weren't sure how to get started? Are you worried about high costs or feasibility? If I told you their were kits that you could buy that you could purchase to assemble your own solar panels for a fraction of the cost, would that interest you?

I found this website that offers information, DIY solar kits, solar lighting, etc...they have everything you need to get started on solarizing your home for much cheaper prices than you could buy elsewhere when fully assembled. I believe we are in a changing environment where everyday people can utilize the power of the solar energy to supplement or replace their home utility bills.

If you think that doing it yourself is too much to do on your own, you can check out the solar contractors at this link that you could use a starting point for your solar project.

These kits are THE BEST way to get started in learning about green energy. The videos and books are available only here and will teach you to install solar panels, make your own, or even how to start a business in the green power industry. So what are you waiting for?!

Solar power advantages can be measured on several levels. Why go solar? Solar power systems have a great number of advantages over traditional electrical systems. Generating your own solar power is also a great way to reduce carbon footprints. Here’s what you should know if you are thinking of making the switch to solar.

Solar power is clean renewable energy. 50 years ago that might not have seemed like a big deal. But today, it’s what might save this planet.

Greenhouse gases caused by our need to fuel our homes, cars, boats and other items are accelerating climate change. Our excessive use of energy is also depleting and destroying the natural resources of the planet. So we have to find new ways to generate energy.

By harnessing the sun’s energy we can power these items but in a way that is environmentally friendly. And since the sun isn’t going anywhere, it means clean energy use for the foreseeable future.

Solar power is free. Energy from the sun costs nothing. What costs are the products needed to collect and distribute the energy. Unfortunately, prices for solar panel systems are expensive and in many cases cost-prohibitive. Even cave dwelling people in Turkey are using solar panels to generate energy and heat their water. After the initial costs are incurred the advantages of solar power become clear. Since solar systems don’t rely on electrical components, maintenance costs are minimal and a good solar system can last for up to 30 years. Generating solar power is one of the best ways to reduce carbon footprints.

Technologies in solar panels and thin film are developing more quickly now as well. At their best right now at the end of 2009, solar panel collectors are able to capture about 10 percent of the UV rays. Hopefully sometime soon, the efficiency of collectors will be improved even more and competition will bring down the price of solar power systems.

Some other solar power advantages are that many states offer tax breaks and incentives for buying solar panel systems and generating solar energy. Do a search online of solar tax breaks and discover the wide array of rebates and other incentives offered. These are often listed by state but will contain information pertaining to all available incentives in the specified area. Also check with local utilities to sign up with their programs – some offer a special rate for those who sign up to receive a block of wind energy, for example.

If your home generates more power than it uses the extra power can be sold to the power company. Solar grid tie systems automatically transfer the excess energy back into the grid helping to power other homes. On rainy days when you don’t have enough solar energy to power your home, you can tap into this grid and the extra energy that you generated on a previous day that went back to the grid will basically pay for you to receive electricity on that rainy day. Batteries also can be used to store excess energy.

On New Year's Eve thousands of red wing black birds showered a neighborhood in the small town of Bebee, AK. Wildlife officials investigating the massive bird kill believe fireworks may have startled the roosting birds and caused them to crash into power lines, trees and houses. The fireworks may have been what got them up in the air in the first place at night when they are not supposed to be flying around, but that doesn't fully explain what happened.

There are many different reasons for mass bird kills -- poisoning, a strange weather event attributed to climate change, or pollution.

Some say we are at a tipping point in the ecology of our environment. Many prophets and ancient civilizations have predicted times in the future of famine, drought, climate change, and death. Some say we may be close to that tipping point in which the entire system may come crashing before our very eyes.

The lead detective in the case of the raining birds loaded her car with boxes of the dead creatures on Monday, taking them for shipment to a national laboratory in the hope that tests would reveal why thousands of birds suddenly fell from the sky upon the small town of Beebe, Arkansas.

Early tests on the birds showed no toxic gases trapped in their feathers, though biologists found some physical trauma indicative of being hit by hail or lightning. Still, a bird die-off of this magnitude is unusual.

Beebe's blackbird population is large enough so that the US Department of Agriculture has in the past attempted large-scale scarecrow techniques to move large flocks out of the area. Outnumbered and outmaneuvered, the USDA gave up those efforts a few years ago.

In 1973, several hundred ducks dropped from the sky near Stuttgart, Ark., known as "The Duck Capital of the World," victims of a sudden storm. In another case, biologists found hundreds of what Ms. Rowe calls "perfectly good," but dead, pelicans in the middle of the woods. While the pelicans showed no outward signs of injury or singe marks, necropsies showed they'd been hit by lightning.

It's the stuff of apocalyptic novels. Scientists have not yet ruled out pollution or chemical toxins as the cause of nearly a dozen mass animal die-offs, from Arkansas to Brazil, in the last week. But as officials investigate, both the mundane and the intriguing are emerging as potential causes.

Because birds are considered indicator species that reflect the health of the surrounding environment, the news of mass deaths has unsettled many Americans.

Mass bird kills aren't uncommon. The US Geological Survey documented 90 mass deaths of birds from June to December last year. Over the past 30 years, it counts 16 events in which 1,000 birds or more suddenly died.

Testing can take time and is often inconclusive, although methods have improved in recent years, says Greg Butcher, a conservationist at the National Audubon Society. Scientists hope to have an explanation for the Arkansas bird kill within three weeks.

Nevertheless, officials in Arkansas and Louisiana call the large number of bird deaths "unusual." While the ultimate explanations may not point to broader environmental problems, "it is something we should potentially worry about," says Mr. Butcher at the National Audubon Society.

Given the recent cold snap here in the Pacific Northwest and the massive snowstorms throughout the rest of the United States, many homeowners are trying to avoid expensive heating bills by putting on a few extra sweaters. But what if you could add an extra layer of warmth to your home instead of your body, leave your thermostat at 70 and still lower your heating bills?

Here are five cost-effective steps toward a more comfortable, energy efficient and environmentally friendly home.

1. Close the gaps – Air leaking in and out of your home can be responsible for as much as 40 percent of your heating and cooling costs, according to Residential Energy by John Krigger and Chris Dorsi. By sealing up leaky areas, especially the bigger gaps found around plumbing, wiring and flues, homeowners can significantly lower their energy bills this winter. Many homeowners take on the task of caulking and weatherstripping around windows and doors themselves, but it is usually better to hire a professional to target the harder to find, and often larger, leaks located in the nooks and crannies of the home. A professional will also ensure that there is enough proper ventilation to keep the home healthy.

2. Give your home a sweater – While air sealing your home is like adding a windbreaker to reduce drafts, insulation acts like a sweater to make your home cozier by reducing the transfer of heat. Heat transferring through floorboards, ceiling and walls is even more expensive than air leakage, and in many older homes, there is little to no insulation to stop this heat flow. When it comes to choosing which area to insulate first (if you can’t afford to insulate all three at once), consider the amount of existing insulation and the installation costs. Attics, since they’re usually the most accessible, are generally the cheapest to insulate, while cutting holes in siding or drywall to install wall insulation tends to drive up the cost.

3. Seal up the ducts – Sealing and insulating ductwork will help your furnace deliver heat efficiently and evenly to the different rooms in your home. However, the importance of duct sealing depends on where the ducts are located. If they’re outside of the living space i.e. a crawlspace or attic, it’s a good idea to seal up and insulate those ducts. On the other hand, if the ducts are exposed inside of your home or they’re located inside of your walls and floor joists, not only will they be very hard to reach, but any heat they’re giving off will likely end up in the home’s living space anyway.

4. Upgrade the furnace – Installing a high efficiency heating system can be expensive. But if your furnace is highly inefficient and on it’s last leg, your best bet is to make the investment. One way to look at it is to consider the life-cycle costs because although the upfront cost of your new heater is high, it may cut your heating bills in half, which could more than cover the initial expense. Also, if the new furnace installation is combined with air sealing, insulation and duct sealing, you may be able to purchase a smaller system, which will save you even more money upfront and in the long run.

5. Revamp the water heater – Heating water uses around 20 percent of the energy consumed in the average home. The simplest ways to use less energy to heat water are to turn your water heater to 120 degrees Fahrenheit and wrap the storage tank and pipes with insulation. You can also replace your faucets and showerheads with water saving models. If you’re interested in making a larger investment to save water, energy and money, consider purchasing an ENERGY STAR dishwasher and clothes washer or replacing your tank water heater with a tankless or solar thermal water heater.

To find out which of these measures would be the most cost-effective in your home, check out EnergySavvy’s free online energy audit. It’s a quick and easy way to find out which energy saving measures will make the most sense in your home, and it will tell you how much money you may save on your utility bills by making the efficiency upgrades.

Written by Anne Maertens at EnergySavvy

Photo by Shorepower

On December 16th, Shorepower unveiled their new level 2 charging station at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. The installation was timed with the delivery of the first all electric, emission free, Nissan Leaf to a private citizen.

Since deploying its first Level 1 station in 2008, Shorepower continues to pioneer the EV infrastructure space. "This is an exciting time for electric vehicles as we deploy the first of many Level 2 stations in preparation for new cars coming to market,” said Jeff Kim, President of Shorepower.

Currently, the OMSI station provides free energy to EVs. Recharging an electric vehicle on a 240V Level 2 Charging Station can provide up to 25 miles of range for every hour of charging depending on the type of electric vehicle.

Over the coming months and years, Shorepower will retrofit existing Level 1 stations and add many new public and private plug-in stations across the country.

Shorepower is a transportation electrification infrastructure company offering simple, cost-effective solutions for connecting cars and trucks to the electrical grid including Truck Stop Electrification (TSE) and charging stations for Electric Vehicles (EVs) and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles.

The Shimizu Corporation of Japan is pioneering new ways to help make life in desert regions more inhabitable. Their plan includes creating giant man-made lakes in the middle of the deserts. The lakes would be filled with seawater fed by canals reaching from the ocean. The lakes would be connected by canals to form a water network which would transform the desert regions into a climate that can support human development.

Artificial islands would then be built in the giant sea lakes to allow the water surrounding the cities to temper the harsh desert climate.

Securing the water would be the most important part of such a project:
1. Multiple seawater lakes, each surrounded by a continuous underground wall reaching all the way to the impermeable layer, are created.
2. Water is recirculated. Pumps are used to transport sea water to lakes. Gravity moves water to neighboring lakes.
3. A network of canals connects the manmade lakes.
4. Artificial islands are formed on the lakes.
5. The transportation network will incorporate both land and water systems.

To create the waterways, the core element of the system, pumps will be used to move water from the ocean to a manmade lake located at a higher elevation. Water collected in the lake will then flow down along natural slopes to many other lakes, eventually returning to the ocean. If necessary, booster pump stations will be established at several locations along the waterways. Creating very large lakes is expected to reduce extreme temperatures and increase humidity, creating a comfortable living environment characterized by mild weather on the artificial islands as well as in the areas around the lakes.

Such a cities would be extremely sustainable once built. Introducing seawater into the lakes will make it possible to cultivate and use marine resources. Seawater greenhouse agriculture, and energy production, fish farming, and Mangrove reforestation all would be possible around these cities.

The canals will be used to transport people and goods, promoting the development of nearby areas as well as the cities established on the manmade islands.

The manmade islands will represent high-tech oases in which technology and nature are harmoniously integrated.

For their energy needs, the cities established on the manmade islands will draw on photovoltaic systems to tap the abundant sunlight or on power-receiving facilities for solar power satellite (SPS) systems constructed on vast stretches of empty desert.

All in all, as our world becomes increasingly crowded, innovative and exciting solutions such as these will be explored in the future. It is certainly an interesting and futuristic concept.

Demonstration of Multi-scale Integrated Models of Ecosystem Services (MIMES) by Roel Boumans and David McNally of AFORDable Futures LLC (March 15, 3 pm US EDT/Noon US PDT/7 pm GMT).  The Multi-scale Integrated Models of Ecosystem Services (MIMES) is a suite of models for land use change and marine spatial planning decision making.  The models quantify the effects of land and sea use change on ecosystem services and can be run at global, regional, and local levels.  The MIMES use input data from GIS sources, time series, etc. to simulate ecosystem components at under different scenarios defined by stakeholder input.  These simulations can help stakeholders evaluate how development, management and land/sea use decisions will affect natural, human and built capital.  Building interactive databases for regional, integrated decision making is an important aspect of implementing MIMES.  MIMES has been developed in collaboration with a large international group of scientists and resources managers.  This on-going work is archived at a Google Code site.  Learn more about MIMES at http://www.uvm.edu/giee/mimes or http://www.afordablefutures.com/services/mimes.  Register for the webinar at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/907465801.

Demonstration of Coral Reef Scenario Evaluation Tool (CORSET) by Jessica Melbourne-Thomas of the University of Tasmania (May 26/27, Various times- see below).  The Coral Reef Scenario Evaluation Tool is a generic, biophysical model for coral reef systems which couples dynamics from local to regional scales. Interactions between benthic and consumer functional groups at local scales (hundreds of metres to kilometres) are linked across regional scales (hundreds of kilometres to thousands of kilometres) by larval dispersal. The approach is bottom-up; simple components are combined to create a portable framework which can be applied for reef systems anywhere in the world. Model components and outputs are understandable for non-experts, but the system is able to generate complex, emergent patterns. Moreover, there is the facility to incorporate larval connectivity data from sophisticated dispersal models. CORSET is equally applicable as a research tool or as a decision support tool for coral reef management.  Learn more at https://reefscenarios.org/.

Webinar #1:

May 26 at 4 pm US EDT

May 26 at 1 pm US PDT

May 26 at 8 pm GMT

May 26 at 10 am in Honolulu, Hawaii

May 26 at 3 pm in Kingston, Jamaica

May 26 at 4 pm in Santiago, Dominican Republic

Register at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/303931688.

Webinar #2:

May 26 at 7 pm US EDT

May 26 at 4 pm US PDT

May 26 at 11 pm GMT

May 26 at 1 pm in Honolulu, Hawaii

May 27 at 7 am in Perth, Australia

May 27 at 9 am in Brisbane, Australia

May 27 at 9 am in Sydney, Australia

May 27 at 9 am in Guam

May 27 at 11 am in Suva, Fiji

Register at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/405725128.

Presentation on the Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard by Kathy Goodin of NatureServe (April 5 at  2 pm EDT/11 am PDT/6 pm GMT).  Coastal planners and resource managers working in the marine environment routinely face challenges related to data availability and consistency. Often, different types of data from multiple sources must be integrated to fully characterize an area. The Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS) is an ecological classification system that provides a framework for this integration.  It is universally applicable for coastal and marine systems and complementary to existing wetland and upland systems.  CMECS Version 3.1 broadly classifies the environment into aquatic settings, or systems differentiated by salinity, tidal zone, geomorphology, and depth. Within these systems are five underlying components (benthic biology, substrate geology, geologic formations, sub-benthic soils, and the water column) that describe different aspects of the seascape. These components can be identified and mapped independently or combined as needed.  CMECS is currently being considered for approval as a national standard by the Federal Geographic Data Committee.  It has been developed by a coalition of organizations including NOAA, NatureServe, EPA, and USGS.  Learn more at http://www.csc.noaa.gov/benthic/cmecs.  Register for the webinar at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/686465233. 

Presentation on the Coastal Adaptation to Sea Level Rise Tool (COAST) by Sam Merrill of the New England Environmental Finance Center (April 21, 2011 at 2 pm EDT/11 am PDT/6 pm GMT).  Most GIS tools developed to respond to the challenges of climate change focus on the damage caused by sea level rise (SLR) or increased storm surges and do not calculate or visualize the economic benefits of the adaptive actions municipalities could take in response to different levels of SLR and storm surge.  The Coastal Adaptation to Sea Level Rise Tool (COAST) approach assesses costs and benefits of adaptations to SLR scenarios by incorporating a variety of existing tools and datasets, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' depth-damage functions; NOAA's Sea, Lake, and Overland Surges from Hurricanes (SLOSH) model; and other flood methods, as well as projected SLR scenarios over time, property values, and infrastructure costs, into a comprehensive GIS-based picture of potential economic damage.  COAST displays the location-specific avoided costs associated with particular adaptive actions, along with the costs incurred by implementing those actions, to assist coastal municipalities in selecting appropriate strategies.  COAST also has applications for inland areas that include analyzing and displaying the economic impacts of any potential hazard event that can be mapped (e.g., extreme rainfall, fire) as well as the social and environmental impacts of those events. COAST bundles processes in Excel and the ArcGIS ArcGlobe application in the ArcGIS 3D Analyst extension. It has been designed to eventually become a stand-alone ArcGIS Desktop extension.  Learn more about COAST at http://efc.muskie.usm.maine.edu/docs/coast.arcuser.pdf.  Register for the webinar at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/501237225.

Demonstration of Habitat Priority Planner by Chrissa Waite and Danielle Bamford of NOAA Coastal Services Center (February 8, 2011 at 2 pm EST/11 am PST/7 pm GMT).   Does your organization need to make sound decisions on natural resource  management, but you're not sure how to get folks involved?  The Habitat Priority Planner packages spatial analysis and stakeholder engagement in one geospatial tool.  This ESRI-based toolbar has been used for strategic conservation planning, to create species monitoring plans, and to plan for climate change adaptation.  This webinar will show, using a case study example, how users can customize base data, select a series of spatial analyses, and work with stakeholders to prioritize areas for management action.  Learn more at http://www.csc.noaa.gov/hpp.  Register for this webinar at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/857242505.

Demonstration of EMDS by Keith Reynolds of the US Forest Service (March 30, 2011 at 2 pm EDT/11 am PDT/6 pm GMT).   Ecosystem Management Decision Support (EMDS) is an application framework to help make knowledge-based ecological assessments at a variety of geographic scales.  The system integrates the logic engine of NetWeaver (provided by Rules of Thumb, Inc.) to perform landscape evaluations and the decision modeling engine of Criterium DecisionPlus (provided by InfoHarvest, Inc.) to evaluate management priorities.  Specific questions that EMDS addresses are:  1) What can we conclude from our data about the state of the landscape? 2) What is the explanation for the conclusion? 3) How much influence do missing data have on obtaining a logically complete analysis?  4) Considering the logistics of getting the missing data, which missing data should be the highest priority? and 5) How much priority should be given to a particular landscape feature when planning possible management activities?  Learn more about EMDS at http://www.spatial.redlands.edu/emds.  Register for the webinar at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/230485497. 

Demonstration of openNSPECT, an Open Source Version of the Nonpoint-Source Pollution and Erosion Comparison Tool by Dave Eslinger of NOAA Coastal Services Center (February 24, 2011 at 2 pm US EDT/11 am US PDT).  OpenNSPECT is a new, open-source version of the Nonpoint-Source Pollution and Erosion Comparison Tool (N-SPECT), which required ESRI ArcMap and Spatial Analyst for operation.  The new version of the  tool, openNSPECT,  uses MapWindow (http://mapwindow.org/), similar to the EPA's BASINS suite of tools.  OpenNSPECT  helps coastal mangers and local officials investigate potential water quality impacts to rivers and streams from development, other land uses, and climate change. Users first enter information about their area (land cover, elevation, precipitation, and soil characteristics) to create the base data layer. They can then add different land cover change scenarios (such as a development) to get information about potential changes in surface water runoff, nonpoint pollution, and erosion. Learn more about N-SPECT at http://www.csc.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/tools/nspect/index.html and OpenNSPECT at http://nspect.codeplex.com/.  Register for the webinar at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/784088480.