Tomorrow, April 22, is Earth Day 2011 and the global organizers of this annual celebration of our planet are once again asking us all to make a pledge to help achieve “a billion acts of green.” Now, we all know that, as the U.S. economy’s largest consumer of energy, the Federal government is grappling with significant energy issues – but it’s not all bad news. From the multiple benefits of cloud computing, building information modeling (BIM), virtualization, and smart grids to simple acts like putting lighting controls in the hands of office workers, the federal government is already achieving specific gains in its sustainability and green efforts as mandated 2009’s Executive Order 13514. So, in honor of Earth today we picked our “best of” articles and insights that show just how the public sector (and those that serve it), with the help of technology, can and is, going green.

Earth Day 2011 is on April 22 but Google Earth Day is taking place all week long and is showcasing just how government agencies are putting Google Earth to work, for the good of our planet!

Virtual USA, Virtual Alabama, and Virginia Interoperability Picture for Emergency Response (VIPER). What do these three geospatial tools have in common? They are all geospatial emergency management tools that are making the promises of Gov 2.0 a reality. As I’m sure you’re aware, Gov 2.0’s purpose is to socialize government services, processes and data through IT. So what does this mean for geospatial technology? I recently read an article entitled, Geospatial tools offer killer app for Gov 2.0 that discusses the future of geospatial technology and the direction it must head in order to stay viable. That direction, according to the article, is making the data actionable. In other words, designing applications that keep the end user in mind, providing for the accessibility and use of that data by both the data gatherers and end users, and making sure the collaboration between the two is sustainable. But how is this achieved in best practice?

From the latest TV meteorological reports to the local police department efforts to reduce crime in your neighborhood – geospatial data affects our everyday lives in some capacity. Generally speaking, however, the public hasn’t traditionally needed to access this information or even know how to interpret it. This is about to change. I recently came across a blog entry on techpresident.com, entitled “Feds Launch New Geospatial Platform”, that describes the launch of a new website, GeoPlatform.gov. This new site is a part of the Obama administration’s push for open government and is intended to bring place-based products and services to the American public. According to the site, The Geospatial Platform is a managed portfolio of common geospatial data, services, and applications contributed to, and administered by, authoritative sources. The platform data is hosted on a shared infrastructure for use by government agencies and partners (academics and other organizations) to meet their mission needs and the broader needs of the Nation.

Emergency preparedness is often times something most residents don’t think about until they’re face to face with a disaster. By then it could be too late. Louisiana is doing their part to stop this trend and help residents with emergency preparedness. The Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) have released the first public version of Google Earth Enterprise. This new software, called Louisiana Earth, will assist the citizens of Louisiana in emergency planning. Released as part of the state's "Get a Game Plan" campaign, Louisiana Earth uses Google Earth Enterprise to assist citizens in creating evacuation plans. LA Earth provides access to all of the states evacuation routes, sheltering points, historical hazard data and other information that is essential during an evacuation such as locations of and available occupancy of hotels, gas stations, pharmacies, grocery stores, veterinary clinics and banks.

I regularly check out my local Home Owners Association online discussion boards to get the scoop on neighborhood events and happenings. And, living close to the nation’s capital, transportation issues are often top of mind for us all. So I found myself following a popular thread about a local road construction project. Being the resourceful neighbors that we are (and just a little curious to know whether said project would help or hinder commuter traffic) the thread took on it own life as we harnessed our collective information gathering power to get the scoop. One contributor tracked down information from Virginia DOT’s web site; then another posted a Google Maps aerial image of the area; others chimed in with some local hearsay and, eureka, we concluded that our little hometown road project was in fact a step in the right direction towards easing congesting at a major commuter route interchange.

Using geospatial data is more than just locating points on a map or being able to identify your location via cell phone. Geospatial data can also aid in improving public safety and emergency responsiveness. Geospatial solutions, including Google Earth Enterprise and Google Maps API, are being adopted by many cities across the country to aid in improving the quality of life for their residents.

Natural disasters and industrial incidents are not in short supply these days.  Both newspapers and the evening news are documenting tornados, volcanic ash, oil slicks and more.