Blog: New Technology Generates Database on Spill Damage

New Technology Generates Database on Spill Damage
New York Times (05/04/10) Wheaton, Sarah

A New Orleans advocacy group is using crowd-sourcing technology to map the damage of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill on the Gulf Coast and create a database on its impact on the region. In 2008, volunteers developed Ushahidi as an open source platform to help Kenyans track political violence. Ushahidi has since been used to map election irregularities in Sudan, crime in Atlanta, and earthquake victims in Haiti. The Louisiana Bucket Brigade is receiving texts, tweets, and email messages about odors, unemployed oystermen, oily birds, and more. The database of reports appears as a rainbow of dots on a map on its Web site. "You hear one anecdote and then another anecdote, but hopefully this will give a more global perspective of the damage," says Bucket Brigade director Anne Rolfes. "We will have absolutely crystal-clear data about people affected, and that should certainly inform policy makers."

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