The Earth Challenge 2020 (“EC2020”) mobile application was developed by GeoMarvel in recognition of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, and in partnership with the US Department of State, The Wilson Center and Earth Day Network. The application is designed to engage millions of citizens around the world to collect and submit data for new and ongoing citizen science projects.
The EC2020 app leverages the power of citizen science to get the global community involved in this large-scale effort to identify global impacts at local levels. With a better understanding of important environmental issues such as local air quality, plastic pollution rates and insect populations, researchers can make informed, data-backed decisions that will drive impactful policy change.
The EC2020 app empowers users to submit useful data towards these initiatives, while also providing access to expert knowledge and education material that users can access from the “Act” tab. EC2020 has the potential to leave lasting positive impacts, while also resulting in a better understanding of the pressing environmental challenges being faced in our own neighborhoods.
The EC2020 app currently houses four collection widgets, focused around key environmental research initiatives such as Air Quality, Plastic Pollution, Insect Populations and Food Supply.
The Air Quality collection widget empowers users to submit images of the horizon using their current location. The user will then rate the Air Quality of their sky based on AirNow.gov’s Air Quality Index (AQI), which uses reference-grade sensors to measure Air Quality based on fine particulate matter (PM 2.5). The reference-grade sensors provide the current AQI Rating, the distance to the closest reference-grade sensor, and action items to help reduce air pollution. This data will help researchers fill the gaps in global air quality data.
The Plastic Pollution collection widget allows users to submit photos of plastic waste they encounter around the world, geo-tag the plastic waste and classify the type of plastic they found. Scientists will use this data to quantify levels of plastic pollution on a global scale, and even track the pollution back to its source for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
The Insect Populations widget encourages users to submit images of insects that they discover in everyday life. By locating and classifying insect species, citizen scientists will help researchers make more informed decisions around conservation efforts such as monitoring at-risk insect populations and identifying the success of population growth initiatives.
Earth Challenge 2020 is built in AppStudio for ArcGIS, an easily deployable, geo-enabled application that allows rapid collection of images and data. The application also leverages Microsoft Azure VM’s for cloud computing of submission data and associated properties, Microsoft Azure SQL to write user submissions to the database and retrieve data for global submissions, Microsoft Azure Content Moderator API for image moderation and review, Microsoft Azure Blob Storage for storing images and associated properties, Kinetica’s GPU Database to power AI and ArcGIS Online for global data visualization.
US Department of State The State Department leads America’s foreign policy through diplomacy, advocacy and assistance. ECF is a global initiative to make diplomacy a vital driver of sustainable cities. As a partnership between the diplomatic community, city government, non-governmental organizations and local businesses, world-wide chapters of the ECF provide a unique platform for communities to come together for sustainability.
The Wilson Center The Wilson Center is the Nation’s key non-partisan policy forum for tackling global issues through independent research and open dialogue, to inform actionable ideas for the policy community. By conducting relevant and timely research and promoting dialogue from all perspectives, it works to address the critical current and emerging challenges confronting the United States and the world. Within the Wilson Center, the Citizen Science Global Partnership is a network-of-networks that seeks to promote and advance citizen science for a sustainable world.
Earth Day Network The first Earth Day on April 22nd, 1970, activated 20 million Americans from all walks of life and is widely credited with launching the modern environmental movement. Growing out of the first Earth Day, EDN, the world’s largest recruiter to the environmental movement, works year-round with tens of thousands of partners in 192 countries. EDN’s goal is to build environmental democracy and to broaden, diversify and mobilize the environmental movement worldwide.
Download the Earth Challenge 2020 app, from the App Store or Google Play Store, to jumpstart your citizen science journey by contributing your data to help identify and reduce pollution around the globe. Join a global network of citizen scientists who are each playing a vital role in the fight to conserve our planet Earth.
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