Energy & Resources

BLM Maps Potential Solar Energy Areas
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is looking into using federal lands for solar energy development, and has issued maps of six states showing the locations of so-called Solar Energy Study Areas where solar energy generation may be a possibility. “Only lands with excellent solar resources, suitable slope, proximity…   Read more →
Posted on Monday, July 6, 2009 at 7:47 PM
Categories: Energy & Resources
Mapping the Grid
For a series on the U.S. electricity grid, NPR has put together an interactive map showing said grid, including transmission lines (both existing and proposed; pictured), power sources (i.e., coal, nuclear, hydro), power plant locations, and solar and wind power capacity. Via Cartophilia….   Read more →
Posted on Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 6:31 PM
Categories: Energy & Resources
San Francisco Solar Map
The San Francisco Solar Map is a part of the city’s goal to have 10,000 roofs equipped with solar panels by 2012; it maps current solar installations and provides information for those interested in installing solar panels. Via Vector One; more information at Government Technology….   Read more →
Posted on Wednesday, October 15, 2008 at 9:21 PM
Categories: Energy & Resources, Environment, San Francisco
B.C. Geodata Available Online, Through Google Earth
As reported last year, the provincial government of British Columbia is making its geographic databases available online and via Google Earth. The announcement was made last Friday; the Vancouver Sun has coverage. Via, and more at, AnyGeo….   Read more →
Posted on Tuesday, July 22, 2008 at 4:25 PM
Categories: Energy & Resources, Environment, GIS, Google Earth
The USGS in Afghanistan
The U.S. Geological Survey is running a number of projects in Afghanistan, including the Afghanistan Airborne Geophysical and Remote Sensing Survey, for the Afghan government: “Data collected during this survey will provide basic information for mineral and petroleum exploration studies, which are important for the economic development of Afghanistan. Additionally,…   Read more →
Posted on Thursday, May 1, 2008 at 6:59 PM
Categories: Energy & Resources
U.S. Atlas of Renewable Resources
Very Spatial points to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s U.S. Atlas of Renewable Resources. Sue writes: “The atlas (which is still under development) includes a web mapping interface that show the geographic distribution of wind, biomass, geothermal and solar resources, and the NREL site also has data available for…   Read more →
Posted on Sunday, March 2, 2008 at 10:20 AM
Categories: Energy & Resources
Oil Reserves Cartogram
A cartogram showing the world’s oil reserves: the larger the country, the more oil it has. The Arabian peninsula is understandably enormous; see also Nigeria and Venezuela. Not sure how this map works, since both Canada and Russia are disproportionately small despite what I thought were substantial oil reserves….   Read more →
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Posted on Saturday, December 22, 2007 at 9:21 PM
Categories: Energy & Resources
Canadian Mining Sector Wants Mapping Plan
Also via GeoCarta, this story about a proposed national mapping strategy — a “decade-long plan to map Canada’s resource-rich north” — is framed in the context of Canada’s mining industry, which is hungry for new reserves that good mapping, which they hope the government will provide, will help them find,…   Read more →
Posted on Tuesday, March 6, 2007 at 8:47 PM
Categories: Energy & Resources
Ancient Map, Modern Mine
This pregnant news item just begs for more detail: an Australian gold exploration company is embarking on a $216-million mining project in Egypt that was explored based on a 3,000-year-old pharaonic map that indicated locations of gold sites. Via Map History/History of Cartography….   Read more →
Posted on Tuesday, February 27, 2007 at 9:27 PM
Categories: Antique Maps, Energy & Resources
Local Logging Maps
Though only in fits and starts so far, I’ve been slowly working my way through the maps in my local archives’ collection. We have what you might expect: a mixed bag of local topo and cadastral maps, both current and antique, and some maps donated by locals that themselves aren’t…   Read more →
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Posted on Monday, February 19, 2007 at 12:51 PM
Categories: Energy & Resources
Renewable Energy Atlas of Alaska
Three-quarters of Alaska’s electricity is generated by burning fossil fuels, mostly natural gas; the Renewable Energy Atlas of Alaska (26 MB, PDF) identifies potential sources of energy from renewable sources in the state, such as wind, hydro and tidal power (solar’s not much use up north). Via Maps-L….   Read more →
Posted on Thursday, February 1, 2007 at 11:41 AM
Categories: Energy & Resources
EWG U.S. Mining Database
There has been an explosion in mining claims lately; the Environmental Working Group’s U.S. Mining Database uses the Google Maps API to show active mines and claims on federal lands in the western United States. (There’s also a Google Earth option.) My, there are a lot of them. Using satellite…   Read more →
Posted on Sunday, December 17, 2006 at 7:04 PM
Categories: Energy & Resources, Environment, Google Earth, Hacks & Mashups, Satellite & Aerial
Fire!
BLDGBLOG’s been having fun with images from NASA’s Earth Observatory again (see previous entry), linking to this collection of MODIS images of Africa during 2005, showing the occurrence of fires deliberately set by people as part of their agricultural cycle. The colours used on the choropleth layer are a…   Read more →
Posted on Tuesday, July 11, 2006 at 8:14 PM
Categories: Earth Sciences, Energy & Resources, Environment, Satellite & Aerial
PEI Wind Atlas
Cute little Canadian province Prince Edward Island has released an online wind atlas, the CBC reports. The atlas, in PDF and ALOV-based interactive versions, maps potential wind energy — i.e., potential locations for wind turbines. See previous entry: Wind Energy Atlases….   Read more →
Posted on Thursday, October 13, 2005 at 10:24 PM
Categories: Energy & Resources, Environment, Weather & Climate
Protected Forest Logged, Mapping Error to Blame
A protected forest in Tasmania was accidentally logged due to a mapping error, ABC News (Australia) reports. Via Cartography; see also GeoCarta. Update, 10:40 PM: From ABC News, “Forestry Tasmania general manager Kim Creek says the error was caused by incorrect boundary markings on a map.” Via GeoCarta….   Read more →
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Posted on Sunday, August 28, 2005 at 8:16 AM
Categories: Energy & Resources, Environment, Mapping Errors

Note: Entries from 2003 were not categorized and will not appear in the category archives. Please consult the monthly archives.