Free global environmental data

When asked for free geospatial data, much of the time I am being asked about local data or something near New Jersey. However, more and more of our students are looking at national and international issues, particularly larger patterns or urbanization, climate change, and global food supply issues.

For those thinking big, I want to recommend the outstanding data resources at the University of Wisconsin's Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment (Disclaimer: I am an alum of the Nelson Institute). This is a great place to get FREE maps, data and models on a variety of environmental issues. It includes geospatial data for irrigated lands, a global land use dataset, and urban extent data for some of the fastest growing areas in the world in SE Asia. It also has maps that are part of the Atlas of the Biosphere.

It is a great resource and yet another reason to keep an eye on our B1G colleagues.