Have questions about how the federal government is responding to the BP oil spill? This new web site seeks to provide answers.

• Mapping the Response to BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Coast Guard, and the Department of Interior.

The dynamic nature of the BP oil spill has been a challenge for a range of communities -- from hotel operators to fishermen to local community leaders....

GeoPlatform.gov/gulfresponse is a new online tool that provides you with near-real time information about the response effort. Developed by NOAA with the EPA, U.S. Coast Guard, and the Department of Interior, the site offers you a "one-stop shop" for spill response information.

The site integrates the latest data the federal responders have about the oil spill's trajectory with fishery area closures, wildlife data and place-based Gulf Coast resources -- such as pinpointed locations of oiled shoreline and current positions of deployed research ships -- into one customizable interactive map.

GeoPlatform.gov/gulfresponse employs the Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA®) a web-based GIS platform developed by NOAA and the University of New Hampshire’s Coastal Response Research Center.

Data.gov's next big thing: Mashing up federal stats with maps, By Aliya Sternstein, NextGov (06/18/2010).

Within the next month, data.gov will offer the public a chance to preview a so-called viewer that will let them combine many of the 270,000 data sets posted on Data.gov with maps.

White House to tie together mapping and data sites, By Aliya Sternstein NextGov, 05/28/2010.

"The White House has contracted with a major developer of mapping software to merge a federal website that publishes geospatial information with Data.gov, the government's depot for downloadable data sets, the company's president said on Thursday.

"California-based ESRI began last summer tying Data.gov to Geodata.gov, the geospatial information gateway, said company President Jack Dangermond in an interview with Nextgov."

I had not seen this before, but it looks like a model for open government. The District of Columbia provides free access to "city operational data" (e.g., Demographics, Health Care, Environment, Human Services, Education, Economic Development, Public Safety) in a variety of formats including RSS (Atom) feeds, XML, CSV, and ESRI Shapefiles. The feeds are drawn from more than 150 data sets, ranging from the all- important crime reports to pothole complaints.

DC Data Catalog and Data Feeds

Today, some mixed good news/bad news about the availability of free public data in the UK. As we've noted here before (e.g., Privatized Data Woes in Britain and News from abroad: UK open statutes & RFID in Canadian coins and The Semantic Web + Government Information = Serendipitous Reuse) the British government sells limited-use licences to its GIS data on a cost recovery basis. Now, as part of a proposed national geoportal, the UK would "create a single point of entry on the web to data held by public bodies such as local councils, Ordnance Survey (OS), the British Geological Survey and the Environment Agency." But, as the story says, "A new system will make geospatial information available without charge - yet we'll still have to pay."

• An Inspired debate on access, by Michael Cross, The Guardian, May 22 2008.

First, some very good news. Civil servants revealed last week that the British government has begun work on a system to make all the geospatial data it holds on the natural environment available for free inspection and re-use. Now the bad news. In this context, "free" means we will still have to pay to download much key data, especially if it is to be published or otherwise used commercially.

This is a really interesting article, particularly for those who have GIS or data mixed in with their government information responsibilities.

• Taking it to the streets by Patrick Marshall, GCN 07/23/07

With the geoWeb, however, the federal government has found itself with two major roles from the get-go. First, federal agencies are providing much of the data behind the geoWeb explosion. Second, government is finding the geoWeb to be an effective way to deliver information directly to citizens via its own Web applications.

Don't miss the sidebars:

• Candid cameras
• Exploring the geoWeb

USGS Launches Land Cover Data Web Tool

San Francisco, Calif. - On April 12th the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) announced the launch of the new USGS Land Cover Visualization and Analysis Tool, which allows users to analyze, in specific detail, how land cover has changed over time.

Designed for both novice and expert users, the web-based system provides an intuitive interface able to selectively view and analyze land cover data from any web browser. The USGS is soliciting users to evaluate the preview release of the application. For more information, go to http://emmma.usgs.gov/landcover

"Land cover data has been a largely untapped information resource. With increasing population and the challenging prospect of climate change, comprehensive information about the condition of our land, and how it is changing, becomes more and more vital," said Barbara Ryan, USGS Associate Director for Geography. "An easy-to-use Web-based application that delivers national land information assets to a wider audience and clearly demonstrates how our environment is changing broadens opportunities to incorporate land cover data in decision making."

Visit this link for the complete announcement.