Evolution of Remote Sensing and National Security
A study performed for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) “chronicles the policy history of civil and commercial remote sensing from 1960 through 2008.”
The study “highlights the difficulties in establishing a consistent government role in a field where public good and private profit exist side-by-side, and where business interests have the potential to contribute to and conflict with national security interests.”
See U.S. National Security and Economic Interests in Remote Sensing: The Evolution of Civil and Commercial Policy by James A. Vedda, The Aerospace Corporation, February 20, 2009.
The unclassified study was released yesterday by NGA three years after it was requested under the Freedom of Information Act.
As humans expand our geographic reach, encroach on untouched natural territories, and interact more with animal populations, we will encounter novel zoonotic diseases that threaten the human body. The sooner we act to address these risks, the better.
This report serves as a landscape assessment and toolbox from which local governments can negotiate an informed position when it comes to the levers available to them and includes a first-of-its kind analysis of eight executed community benefits agreements.
When a hurricane hits, it’s all hands on deck – that goes for federal data, too. Pulling back from our investments in timely, accurate, and accessible public data will only make us less prepared and put us all at greater risk.
This is bigger than a singular elimination of race and ethnicity questions. It could accelerate the second wave of widespread reductions to demographic data, leaving public health officials with even less information to deliver better health outcomes for all Americans.