Environmental Maps Save Lives

-- a conversation with Marie Lynn Miranda

(Ann Kellan)
When flood water ravaged New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, federal officials were caught off-guard and called leading environmental scientists for help.

(Marie Lynn Miranda)
We get this call from FEMA and the Department of Transportation and they said, "how quickly can you get this data to us?" And we were in the fortunate position of being able to say: "as soon as I get to my email".

(Ann Kellan)
Marie Lynn Miranda, Director of the Children's Environmental Health Initiative at Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, has spent years developing a data architecture that superimposes layers of critical information on geographic maps.

(Marie Lynn Miranda)
Where are all the oil pipelines, where are all the gas stations, where's the flood zone? Where are all the police stations? Where are all those things relative to each other? So that you can begin planning both for rehabilitation and research that will help us understand the human and ecological impacts of the hurricane.

(Ann Kellan)
This information makes pinpointing hot spots possible for emergency workers when time is running out.

(Marie Lynn Miranda)
Where are we likely to have leaks from gas stations? Where are we likely to have leaks of petroleum? Where are we likely to have a little pulse of toxic chemicals entering into flood waters? And also, simply, where are the flood waters exactly and what part of the housing stock is under water right now?

(Ann Kellan)
Layered maps built by Miranda's team also help public health officials after the immediate crisis is over. Months after Hurricane Floyd devastated North Carolina, her maps pinpointed where people were experiencing much higher incidences of mold allergies. To learn more about how effectively multi-layered maps can save lives and relieve suffering, put Earth File dot O-R-G in your web browser. I'm Ann Kellan and that's another one for the Earthfile.

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