Cisco applies networking technology to global enviro data collection project

Cisco has struck up a partnership with NASA to create what it is called the "Planetary Skin," a monitoring platform and multi-agency initiative that will capture environmental and climate data from sensors planted across the globe (and in satellites above the earth).

Information captured with the network will be made available to the general public, government agencies and businesses so that they can keep track of environmental conditions and so that they can start developing policies to address and to stabilize them. The United Nations is also involved at a humanitarian level, offering advice about how to manage natural resources and new environmental markets. The Planetary Skin organization will also welcome other partners as the initiative unfolds.

The first project under the partnership will be the "Rainforest Skin," which will be a pilot experiment over the next year to gauge the level of rainforest deforestation. Cisco's Internet Business Solutions Group will be instrumental in implementing the technology necessary to make the platform work.

For more information about Planetary Skin and how to partner with this project, visit: http://www.planetaryskin.org/

For more information about NASA and its programs, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/

For more information about Cisco Inc., visit: http://www.cisco.com/