Katrina and the Disasters Chapter: A Turning Point

摘要

Katrina is an historical turning point for the United States, Earth observations and the world. For the United States, it has experienced the kind of environmental disaster that much of the world already knows too well. The aftermath of Katrina demands that the United States re-evaluate its disaster response and environmental policies. For Earth observations and the world, Katrina has raised decades-long attempts to integrate Earth observation operations on a global scale to a whole new, historic level. Earth observations history was made when, for the first time, the United States activated the Charter on Cooperation to Achieve the Coordinated Use of Space in the Event of Natural or Technological Disasters, also referred to as the Disasters Charter. Its purpose is to provide a unified space data acquisition and delivery system to those affected by natural or human-made disasters. It was declared operational in 2000 and currently the space or weather agencies of Argentina, Canada, Europe, France, India, Japan and the United States are members.