At
first glance, you might think geospatial science has little to do with your
day-to-day life and even less to do with your career. You might think
that studying geospatial science is nothing more than memorizing state capitals
or learning to plot points on a map. But geospatial science is much more than
that. While historians study events through time, geospatial scientists study
where and why. The keys are location and interaction across horizontal
space. Maps are crucial for showing geographic information. Another
focus of geospatial science is the relationship between human beings and their
environment. The truth is that may be one of the most useful subjects
offered in any school.
The world is changing rapidly. Where people
once focused on their neighborhood, their town, their country, they are
now adopting a more global perspective. They are learning that the
earth’s resources are not limitless and that the impact of human beings
on the environment is far greater than had been anticipated as little as
a decade ago.
In its 1988 publication Geography: Making
Sense of Where We Are, the National Geographic Society makes the
following statement:
"Geography for its own sake offers a
fascinating realm of knowledge that can enrich our lives. Conversely, a
lack of geographic understanding can diminish us as individuals, blunt
the success of our international economic and political ventures, and
dilute our strength as a nation." (Source: Careers in Geography, National Geographic Society, 1996.)
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