_Safecast_ is a global project based in the US but currently focusing on outreach efforts in Japan. We are working to empower people with data about their environments, primarily by mapping radiation levels and building a sensor network, enabling people both to contribute and to freely use the data collected.

After the 3/11 earthquake and resulting nuclear situation at Fukushima Daiichi, it became clear that people wanted more data than was available. Through joint efforts with partners such as International Medcom and Keio University, _Safecast_ has been building a radiation sensor network made up of static and mobile sensors actively deployed around Japan—both in the exclusion zone around the reactor and elsewhere in the country. 

_Safecast_ supports the idea that more data—freely available data—is better. Our goal is not to single out any individual source of data as untrustworthy, but rather to contribute to the existing measurement data and make it more robust. Multiple sources of data are always better and more accurate when aggregated. 

While Japan and radiation is the primary focus of the moment, this work has made us aware of a need for more environmental data at a global level and the long-term work that _Safecast_ engages in will address these needs.

Links: http://safecast.org

**Safecast**. While core operations are based out of the Tokyo hackerspace, our team includes members from around the world including, Joi Ito (Cambridge), Bunnie Huang (Singapore), Sean Bonner (Los Angeles), Pieter Franken (Tokyo) and Ray Ozzie (Seattle).