Tools and Data

My World is a Geographic Information System (GIS) designed specifically to meet the needs of students and teachers in middle school through college geoscience and geography classrooms.

My World provides most of the powerful features of a professional GIS environment. These features include customizable display of layer variables, multiple geographic projections, table and map views of data, distance-measurement tools, buffering and query operations. They have been selected to provide the greatest power to students without overwhelming them with complexity. The features are accessed through a supportive interface designed with the needs of students and teachers in mind.

Geographic Data in Education (GEODE) Initiative, Northwestern University

A free time-limited trial version of My World GIS is available from the GEODE Initiative at Northwestern University.

For longer-term or repeated use, a $99 classroom or a $399 school or university site licence is available from Pasco Scientific.

http://MyWorldGIS.org/myworld/

The 2005 Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI) measures progress on environmental sustainability for 146 countries, using 21 indicators that represent 76 variables. Using the ESI, countries can be compared quantitatively on their progress towards improving and maintaining the quality of the environment.

The 2005 ESI measures environmental sustainability progress for 146 countries. Bounding Coordinates are listed below:

• West Bounding Coordinate: -180
• East Bounding Coordinate: 180
• North Bounding Coordinate: 90
• South Bounding Coordinate: -55

The temporal coverage for the data represented in the 2005 Environmental Sustainability Index range from 1961 through 2004. Specific ranges for data in each of the 76 variables can be found in Appendix C: Variable Profiles and Data, of the 2005 Environmental Sustainability Index Report.

The data is distributed by The Environmental Performance Measurement Project at Yale University, in collaboration with the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) of Columbia University and the World Economic Forum.

http://www.ciesin.columbia.edu/indicators/ESI/