[okfn-discuss] OKFN & Environment Data

[Jonathan Gray]

On Fri, Oct 12, 2012 at 12:34 PM, James Smith <james at floppy.org.uk> wrote:

> I think, given that the WG already went a bit quiet, it's best to focus on
> a small area that's specific to OKFN's interest.
>

This sounds sensible. We can't do it all. ;-)


> There are other organisations doing some bits already. For instance, I'm
> organiser of Cleanweb UK (http://cleanweb.org.uk), which organises
> meetups and events in this sort of area, and acts as a cross-organisational
> community. That means that a WG wouldn't have to take that on, which keeps
> things simpler. Similarly, the ODI may be able to do some of the
> policy/advocacy work.
>

Great - what work has Clean Web done in specifically related to CO2 data?
Do you have any links? I initially thought that CW was mainly focused on
greening the web and digital stuff (cleantech+cloud, sustainability+social
media, as it says in mission statement) - and didn't realise it was so
interested in scientific data sharing policies, and reusing/developing
(what may be pretty esoteric data/code).


> I guess I see OKFN's strengths as being in working with the actual data.
> There's lots that could be done here which could create solid results. As
> you mention, there is maintenance on the existing CKAN content, but we also
> have a lot of data that was recently opened by AMEE that could be adopted.
> Then there is the creation of an open standard for emissions reporting,
> which would help answer Rosling's 'Open Emissions Data Now' call. The Open
> Economics group also have some work ongoing in the area of open energy data.
>

Yes - perhaps as a start AMEE could create packages for the openly licensed
datasets they have on TheDataHub and we could all blog about these?

We're also expecting a guest blog post on the provision of CO2 data from
international institutions by someone at the World Bank - in response to
Hans's call.


> Of course, (and this may be heresy on this list, but who knows) this
> doesn't *have* to happen within the OKFN. A separate (though friendly)
> organisation might be simpler.
>

I think the main thing for the moment is getting the ball rolling on some
of these different activities. Ultimately it might make sense to do this as
a coalition of organisations and initiatives who share an interest in
opening up and reusing CO2 data.

I'm sure OKFN is happy to be involved or step back if others want to take a
lead, but the main thing is that more CO2 data is opened up and used to
increase public understanding/advocacy around important issues (as per
Hans's talk).

J.


> cheers,
> James
>
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>
>


-- 
Jonathan Gray

Head of Community
The Open Knowledge Foundation
http://www.okfn.org

http://twitter.com/jwyg
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