A 2019 Odyssey "Down Under" with Esri Australia

(1) A live TV interview about ocean exploration and climate change on ABC News Breakfast, which provides news, weather, and interviews to 160,000 viewers across all of Australia each morning.

(2) The  Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) , an executive agency of the Australian Federal Government similar to the US NOAA and responsible for providing weather services to Australia and surrounding areas. As the main provider of weather forecasts, warnings and observations to local, state, and federal agencies, the Australian public and businesses, BOM takes and gathers observations of weather, water and atmospheric conditions to provide both short-term and long-term outlooks.

(3)  Environment Protection Authority (EPA)  of Victoria is charged with keeping the state prosperous and livable by preventing and reducing harm from pollution and waste. Similar to the US EPA, this agency holds polluters to account, and helps people to understand, own and address their harmful impacts on the environment. The EPA work closely with the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning ( DELWP ) and Sustainability Victoria ( SV ), to develop environment protection policy and legislation to deliver programs that support environmental protection. During emergency events and pollution incidents (such as industrial spills), EPA provides expert advice to emergency services and similarly, throughout bushfire season they provide specialist advice and forecasting on the impacts of bushfire smoke to other agencies. 

(1) Queensland Government’s  Department of Environment and Science (DES)  is responsible for environmental planning and protection policy, pollution and waste management, marine and national parks management, science strategy, and arts policy and programs. My morning keynote to this group, GIS as a Grand Enabler of Environmental Management, Protection, and Science, is at  this link . The DES is in the Ecosciences Precinct, a $270 million precinct of award-winning architecture and using sustainable design principles to create a collaborative environment for more than 1000 scientists. Here researchers from DES and other Queensland Government agencies, as well as CSIRO, the University of Queensland and other partner universities work together to solve some of Australia's biggest environmental challenges.

(2) VIP dinner, breakfast, ceremony and panel discussion with the first cohort of inductees into Esri  Australia's GIS Hall of Fame .

(3) Keynote, Swells, Soundings, and Sustainability at  Ozri, the Australian Esri User Conference  in Brisbane to  ~600 attendees .

(4) VIP lunch with prominent scientists from the University of Queensland, CSIRO, the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, and the Office of the Queensland Government Chief Scientist.

(5) Meeting with the Honorable Leanne Enoch, Minister for Environment and the Great Barrier Reef, Science, and the Arts. In 2015 she became the first aboriginal women ever elected to the Queensland Parliament.

(1)  Geoscience Australia  is an agency of the Australian Federal Government and (like the USGS) is the nation’s trusted advisor on geology and geography of the nation. The agency applies innovative science and technology to describe and understand the Earth for the benefit of Australia. Geoscience Australia is also the government’s technical adviser on all aspects of geoscience, and custodian of the geographic and geological data and knowledge of the nation. On a user-pays basis it produces geospatial products such as topographic maps and satellite imagery, but is also major contributor to the Australian Government’s free, open data collections such as data.gov.au.

(2) The  Australian Defence Force (ADF)  is the Federal Government’s military organization responsible for the defence of Australia, consisting of the Royal Australian Navy, the Australian Army, and the Royal Australian Air Force. Within the ADF, the  Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation  (AGO, similar to the US NGA) is the lead geospatial and imagery intelligence organization, charged with providing geospatial intelligence information used across the nation’s defense and national interests. Within the AGO is the Meteorology and Oceanography (METOC) branch, responsible for the processing production and dissemination of hydrographic data and maritime charts to both Defence and the public, as well as weather intelligence to support Australian Defence Force operations (Air/Surface and Sub-Surface).

(3)  Clean Energy Regulator  (CRE) is an Australian federal agency responsible for measuring, managing, reducing or offsetting Australia's carbon emissions (similar to the US EPA under administrations prior to 2016). CRE is currently focused on accelerating carbon abatement for the nation through the administration of a National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting scheme, a Renewable Energy Target and an Emissions Reduction Fund. CRE is also involved in mapping vegetation from satellites and drones as part of a Carbon Farming Initiative that provides financial incentives to farmers to plant or reserve land for carbon sequestration (under the concept that trees = money).