The Bucket Brigade

While the name may imply old-fashioned single-file lines of volunteers passing buckets one by one; the Louisiana Bucket Brigade (LABB) - formed to contribute to clean-up efforts resulting from the BP Deepwater Horizon spill - has embraced an outreach plan that utilizes real-time data sent from citizens to create interactive maps and charts tracking the oil spill along the Gulf.  In harnessing the power of the people, they’re revolutionizing the way rescue and clean-up operations are performed.    

The LABB targets Twitter, text messaging, mobile phone applications, and email; asking citizens and volunteers to report news of the oil spill as well as anything witnessed firsthand.  All reports are added to the Oil Spill Crisis Map, a map created by students at Tulane University that uses the open source software Ushahidi.  Typical reports on the map include oil sightings, affected animals, curious smells, oil control burns and potential human health impacts.  The map allows for various filters to be applied showing reports not only on the devastating effects of the oil spill but on positive themes such as solutions and ideas and community organizing and meetings. 

The interactive map also allows users to receive alerts.  By entering a location and selecting a radius anywhere from 1 to 100 kilometers, anyone can receive alerts via email or text about the progress of the oil spill.  Mobile phone applications for android and iPhones have also been created.  The Oil Spill Tracker App, with over 500 downloads to date, brings the crisis map to any android phone.  The MoGo app connects the Bucket Brigade with the Mobile Gulf Observatory and allows users to upload photos tagged with an exact location derived from internal GPS capabilities.  The Mobile Gulf Observatory is taking advantage of the application by immediately connecting users to the Wildlife Hotline when they report locations of injured wildlife.  
 
See the Oil Spill Crisis Map:  http://www.oilspill.labucketbrigade.org/
Find the Mobile Gulf Observatory:  http://www.savegulfwildlife.org/