After a brutal hurricane season last year that threw various government estimates and data regarding flood zones into question, Silicon Valley is responding, as always, with a new app.
Startup Jupiter is set to launch its new platform, ClimateScore, in South Florida, which offers users a Google Map-like interface that shows various scenarios of sea-level rise, according to the Miami Herald. The scenarios are informed from an amalgamation of data sources monitored and updated by Jupiter, from satellite data to published scientific papers.
“There’s a huge amount of data. It just isn’t in a form that’s designed for people making decisions about risk,” Jupiter CEO Rich Sorkin told the Herald.
Sorkin’s already got one client from the South Florida real estate industry sold on the idea: Xebec Realty, which claims to have developed over 7 million square feet of property focused on industry uses, is using ClimateScore for evaluating properties in Charleston, South Carolina.
“If there’s science available that gives us additional information to say ‘Oh, here’s seven different places in Greater Miami, and this one is least likely to flood in the future,’ Why wouldn’t we build there rather than somewhere else?” as Xebec executive vice president Scott Hodgkins said to the Herald.
Others are pessimistic that increased awareness will result in any real change: “Ultimately, greed will overcome any regard for climate change in South Florida,” said CondoVultures.com’s Peter Zalewski to the Herald.
Jupiter is just the latest arrival on the scene to market data related to climate change, but the market for their services is picking up, according to Sorkin. His startup is backed by about $10 million in funds raised from venture capital firms and has long-term plans to map the risks of fire and drought via ClimateScore’s platform. [Miami Herald] — Erin Hudson