I was speaking to Willie Smits, an amazing individual that has dedicated his life to preserving the forest habit of Orangutans, and he mentioned a meeting that he organized between Jack Dangermond and Jim Edwards, the executive director of the Encyclopedia of Life. Smits talked about the pressing need for this organization to store the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, as a stumbling block to the efforts of the Encyclopedia of Life. Smits and Evans pressed the issues that they were up against,  and to Smits great delight, Jack agreed to host this information on the company’s servers for free.

Smits passionately described to me the ultimate goal of the Encyclopedia of Life to share and buildon scientific knowledge by enabling citizen scientists to be able to easily and rapidly classify the flora and faua around them. This vision fits neatly with one of Jack’s passions, so it’s not surprising to learn of his endorsement and altruistic effort. It’s not like ESRI to promote their involvement in such an effort, but I thought it fitting to publicize it as an adjunct to my piece about the company’s focus on the greater good. Look for my full interview with Smits in the coming weeks, you won’t want to miss it.

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