From the Publisher
By Roland Mangold

Standing on the Shoulders of Geniuses

"You stood on the shoulders of geniuses... to accomplish something fantastic, and before you even knew what you had, you patent it, slap it on a plastic lunch box, and then you sell it, sell it, and sell it!"
      This line is delivered by Jeff Goldblum's character, Ian Malcolm in the film Jurassic Park, as he pounds on the desk with his fist to make a point about the dark side of the application of technology. Although it seems incongruous that this line should come to mind when I think of the NASA Earth Science Enterprise, where Jurassic Park is an example of technology gone awry, NASA's Earth Science Enterprise is the antithesis.
      All of us, those in the GeoTechnologies industry and in every walk of life have the opportunity to "stand on the shoulders of geniuses," to apply technology for the good of the Earth, society, and to benefit economically from technology that has been developed, fostered, and nurtured by NASA.
      Dr. Earnest D. Paylor, II from the Office of Earth Sciences at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. explained, "NASA, together with its partners in the U.S. Government and around the world, have responded to the challenge of Earth system science by developing complementary and interconnected observations, data/information systems, and analysis capabilities designed to provide the most cost-effective means of conducting the science and conveying that information to societal uses through the ESE program. The resulting science and applications will provide U.S. leadership in the development of an international consensus on the state of the Earth today and in the future. This approach will yield long-term predictions of the state of the Earth system, as well as provide practical information that will benefit practitioners, policy makers, educational institutions, the business community, and the public at large."
      The knowledge being gained from the Earth Science Enterprise is providing an understanding of the complex, dynamic, and interactive processes of Earth, as well as the practical societal needs such as climate and weather forecasting, natural resource management, urban planning, and disaster management to mention a few. However, the beauty of this program is that NASA recognizes the importance and inseparable issue of the economic opportunities derived from these programs and technologies.
      I believe the extraordinary aspect of this program is that NASA not only recognizes the economic opportunity that can possibly be derived from such programs but they are actually fostering these opportunities with government/industry cooperative initiatives.
      NASA recognizes that the knowledge and data derived from ESE have significant practical value to society. Therefore, it is fostering increased access to, and use of, the information to make better, more informed decisions on a daily basis - decisions regarding important issues such as those related to weather and climate forecasting, flood monitoring and mitigation, agriculture productivity, natural resource management, urban and regional planning, drought impact assessment, and transportation planning. To this end, ESE formulated and implemented a new program aimed at application research and commercial development, including communication of ESE data and science to the non-science communities.
      The genius in this concept is in its holistic approach to all aspects of the ESE program. Never before has a government research and scientific initiative embraced not only the research and scientific issues but also the practical application that benefit society, as well as the commercial opportunities that can be derived from such and initiative.
      So what do we do with this gift being afforded us? That depends upon one's perspective: to be truly altruistic and to attempt to help society and our planet, society, the answer is the same: Get involved in these initiatives!
      The nice thing about our opportunity to "stand on the shoulders of geniuses" is that the product of our efforts is not going to eat the tourists.

Cheers!

Roland Mangold
Publisher

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