James Eager has been the Data & GIS analyst at the Pipeline Safety Trust (PST) for a month but it didn’t take him long to become startled by some of the data he’s sifted through.
“So far, the biggest surprise to me is that we are averaging nearly one significant [pipeline-related] incident a day,” he said. “It’s a big deal. People should know more about these incidents.”
James has found the frequency and severity of pipeline-created incidents to be pretty astounding. He said it’s apparent the situation is bad and that we should be doing more to create safe situations throughout our country.
Before starting as the Data & GIS analyst at the Pipeline Safety Trust (PST) James admits he didn’t know much about pipelines. Fast forward a month and a lot has changed, James is now hard at work compiling and analyzing data. He’s even already fact-checked American Petroleum Institute (API) claims in a recent blog post you can find here.
James said he’s ready to get to work creating more modern visualizations to accommodate the data in the pipeline sphere. Traditionally, this type of data hasn’t been a very explored space in the data and GIS community. He said he has an exciting opportunity to be a pioneer in his new approach.
“I can take a modern lens to the tools we have and apply it to these topics in ways that people haven’t yet,” he said. “The organization has worked hard to carve this data out but now we can give it a facelift.”
He hopes his new methods of portraying data and visualizations help with public outreach; he notes people love to see the stories that data can tell.
James brings a commitment to telling stories through data using elegant, accessible, and responsible techniques.
He has previously served as a Regional Collaboration Coordinator for the Berkshire Natural Resources Council in Massachusetts, where he developed engaging and interactive maps and visualizations for a regional trail network project. James’ previous experience includes working for city governments on mobility, parks, and sustainability projects.
When he is not working, you can find James playing guitar and piano, watching soccer, or working through a new cookbook.
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