Think Out Loud

Big Data Environmentalism

By Sage Van Wing (OPB)
Oct. 21, 2015 3:31 p.m.
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The city of Spokane has sued Monsanto over pollution from PCBs in the Spokane River. Monsanto was the sole manufacturer of PCBs. They were banned in the US in 1979.

The city of Spokane has sued Monsanto over pollution from PCBs in the Spokane River. Monsanto was the sole manufacturer of PCBs. They were banned in the US in 1979.

Orin Blomberg/Flickr

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This summer, one of the many-faceted cameras that produce Google Maps Street View took on a new challenge. The camera was mounted on a raft and rowed down a river in Northern California. At the helm of the raft were several employees from the Portland-based non-profit Freshwater Trust. Their goal is not simply to map every river in the U.S., but to use the power of big data to solve the pollution problems of America's waterways.

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