Why do I Torture Myself by Learning GIS?
Jan 16 Written By Alfred Schaeffer
It was several years ago when I first learned about GIS. It might have been Arc Map 3.?? I was intrigued by the mapping aspect of the software and absolutely smitten by the possibilities. At the time I was a forester working for a large corporate paper company in western Maine. Often, while attempting to lay out water body protection zones with a Silva Ranger hand compass, and several rolls of flagging, I would think “There has got to be an easier and more accurate way”. Behold, here it is 2021, and I would imagine foresters use a lot less flagging, since GIS software has entered the hands of everyone with a smart phone and cabs of half million dollar mechanical harvesters.
Still, I’m madly fascinated by what we can do, and what I can learn using GIS software. Especially now that smartphones are so incredibly common. Now EVERYBODY can collect data, for almost any issue. Think about that for a minute in light of the social and environmental issues we face as a global community. The data we can collect centered on any issue can be broader in spectrum, larger in numbers and more diverse for any situation.
You might think this could lead to a Niagara like flow of data for a situation that only merits the flow of a gurgling brook. Wouldn’t the solution be lost in voluminous flow of points, lines and polygons? Possibly, yes. This is why all data collection needs to be appropriately designed, but it’s not the small issues that concern us most. It’s the issues centered around global warming, COVID-19, local and global hunger, pollution and an arms length of other geographically related concerns where GIS really shines and where broad spectrum data, large numbers of data points, increased diversity of data are all positive characteristics leading to making better well informed decisions about the issues in the world around us.
I’m not someone that comes from a strong computer science, programming or engineering background. My passion is our environment, particularly our forests and to see all our resources, natural and human made, managed effectively and to help our global community make better, more effective decisions about the issues that are waiting for answers.
That’s why…