NASA's long-term, global view of Earth from space includes data on sunlight, wind, temperature and precipitation, all key elements in understanding how our planet works.
That same, information is also being put to very practical use on Earth by improving the energy efficiency of buildings and siting renewable energy technology like wind turbines and solar panels.
NASA's Prediction of the Worldwide Energy Resources (POWER) project puts NASA data into the hands of sustainability specialists for decision making.
"School districts, private companies, all types of people use it all over the world," said Paul Stackhouse, the project manager for POWER. Based at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, and supported by NASA’s Earth Science Division in Washington, one example of POWER is its work with Hawaii school district to monitor energy use in all public school buildings in the state.
"We're able to provide details on their energy usage and their energy efficiency," said Stackhouse. "It also provides estimates of greenhouse gas emissions."
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