GIS

My Latest MIT Technology Review Report: Mapping the Way to Climate Resilience

Posted on by Sally Wiener Grotta
A building that's inundated by rising waters might be down the block from another that is practically untouched, though they're on the same floodplain
Natural phenomena like floods don’t conform to
human expectations.
My latest report for MIT Technology Review explores how GIS (geographical information systems) are being used to help companies like AT&T prepare be more resilient when climate change crises hit.

Many companies don’t yet know how climate change will change their business, but more are taking the inquiry seriously, signaling a new reality–one that calls for guarding against systemic risk while protecting customer relationships and corporate reputations. Recognizing that reducing carbon emissions is essential to combat climate change, AT&T has made a commitment to become carbonneutral by 2035.

“We just know it’s the right thing to do for our customers and–I say this from years of doing risk management–it’s good, basic risk management,” says Shannon Carroll, director of global environmental sustainability at AT&T. “If all indications are that something is going to happen in the future, it’s our responsibility to be prepared for that.” Globally, leaders from government, business, and academia see the urgency.

The World Economic Forum Global Risks Report 2021 names extreme weather due to climate change and human-driven environmental damage among the most pressing risks of the next decade. When citing risks with the highest impact, those surveyed listed climate action failure and other environmental risks second only to infectious diseases…

Please click HERE to read the full report.

How the World Food Programme Is Changing Lives

Posted on by Sally Wiener Grotta
World Food Programme - picture of Villagers in Afghanistan gather food rations. (Photo credit: WFP/ Teresa Ha)
Villagers in Afghanistan gather food rations. (Photo credit: WFP/ Teresa Ha)
The United Nation’s World Food Programme (WFP) is the largest humanitarian organization in the world, known for rushing into danger to feed the hungry. I had the honor of interviewing Lara Prades, the head of the WFP’s geospatial unit, and learning how they manage to be seemingly everywhere at once. It would be an almost impossible management task if it weren’t for the GIS (geographical information system) that Prades runs.
“Saving lives is not enough. We also need to change lives.” ~ Lara Prades, head of WFP’s Geospatial Unit
Please click here to read the article that I wrote for MIT Technology Review.

Envisioning better health outcomes for all

Posted on by Sally Wiener Grotta
Mapping covid-19 cases across Europe (source: MIT Technology Review)
Mapping covid-19 cases across Europe (source: MIT Technology Review)

I loved doing the interview and research for this piece. So meaningful. This kind of meaty feature piece is why I originally got into journalism. Okay, my name isn’t on the piece, but the information is out there now. That feels good. (Written for MIT Technology Review)

“…According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, compared to the general United States population, African Americans are 1.4 times more likely to contract the coronavirus, and 2.8 times more likely to die from covid-19. Similarly, Native Americans and Hispanics/Latinos are nearly twice as likely to be infected by coronavirus, and 2.5 to 2.8 times more likely to die from it.

“Underlying these statistics are significant structural, social, and spatial issues. But why is this? And how do we begin to quantify and address the nested problems of public health inequality?…”

A cool distribution system powered by a GIS (geographical information system) may be the answer.

Please Click Here to read the full article