Every now and then, amid the sea (or should I say bay) of dreck on the World Wide Web, a surfer can stumble onto a gem.
ChesapeakeStat, a new Web site dedicated to tracking the health of the Chesapeake Bay, is modeled after successful programs that use statistical tracking to reduce crime or improve civil services. Mayor Rudy Giuliani famously used the system in the 1990s to track and reduce crime in New York, and our own Gov. O'Malley instituted in across several sectors of the city government during his stint as Baltimore mayor.
A systematic process of analyzing information and data to continually assess the bay's health and adapt strategies and tactics when needed, ChesapeakeStat was recently launched by the Chesapeake Bay Program, an alliance of the states of Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia; the District of Columbia; the Chesapeake Bay Commission; the Environmental Protection Agency; and participating citizen advisory groups.
The site is designed so that ordinary folks can track what's happening the bay, from funding to fisheries, to water quality. After a quick click through the site the other day, I learned that Maryland contributes about $304 million toward the bay, second to Virginia's $398 million.
This site strikes me as a great idea. The more information the public has at its disposal the better, and I like the way the site is designed to be user friendly. When you get a minute, click over to it then come back here and let us know what you think.
Comments