Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Esri Backs White House Climate Change Initiative

Redland-based Esri, which provides geographical information systems and mapping software, said today that it is backing the White House Climate Change Data Initiative, and will help communities develop practical methods and approaches that use its GIS technology. Esri said it will publish maps and apps specifically developed around the initiative, as part of the effort to help communities confront the impacts of climate change. As part of the effort, Esri also said it has launched a new "Esri Climate Resilience App Challenge", which will challenge developers and startups to create maps and analytics tools to help communities understand, see, and prepare for climate risks. With that app challenge, Esri is offering up to $15,000 in cash prizes for innovative apps developed by users using its ArcGIS platform. President Obama launched a new climate data site yesterday to help communities in climate change preparation -- including a major portion powered by Esri's mapping technology.

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