ACSM Bulletin | April 2010 | #244
Our environment
An earthquake in Haiti. A volcano in Iceland impacting air travel in northern Europe. An oil spill 50 miles southeast of the coast of Louisiana. A spate of events which have dominated the news cycle, on and off, the first quarter of 2010. Surveyors and mappers are acutely aware of all that affects land; we respond, by providing the data that go into creating more accurate visualizations of the events themselves, their short- and long-term effects, and their mitigation. This issue brings several examples of work and views shaping national debates related to the more informed assessment of dangers to the environment we live in. The work of surveyors and mappers is of utmost importance in this assessment, for, to protect and mitigate or even avoid natural disasters, we need solid science. The task is global; all nations need to play their part. To understand our global responsibilities toward the “land,” its climate and waters—all that makes Earth a breathtakingly beautiful place to inhabit—it behoves us to learn about people and their cultures in different parts of the world. Two surveyors have done just that; one on a trip to Vietnam and the other touring Egypt. The very personal accounts of their travels abroad underscore the importance of the surveying and mapping profession, from time immemorial, to humankind’s well being.