A report in the Financial Times (no link for nonsubscribers) notes a meeting in Brussels on 9/28 of the "Global Earth Observation System of Systems" or "GEOSS", which aims to pool environmental information from "more than 50" countries, "giving governments a better picture of the environment and allowing them to prepare better for problems." Conrad Lautenbacher, "a former US navy vice-admiral and one of the co-chairs of the GEOSS project" is quoted as saying "We have the technology, we have the social and economic need, and I think we have a lot more the willpower at the political level. The time is right to deal with this." The meeting was to work out governance issues. The goal: a November meeting in Ottawa followed by a February Brussels meeting (the "Earth Observation Summit") where "national ministers will be able to agree on a 10-year plan."

Is this a good thing? More data sounds good, but those "governance issues" might be an indication of problems - how much "governance" is needed, for example, to share (and post publicly) data? USEPA says the system will "revolutionize" our "understanding of how the earth works." EPA's wish list of benefits sounds great and the agency has links here. But some other stuff on the system has more green buzzwords.

Anyone have thoughts on whether this is a good thing?