
well, we are now, because of her (State Chief Information Officer Teri Takai) help, we are moving full steam ahead. A perfect example is, for instance, GIS. GIS is a form of digital mapping technology, kind of like Google Earth but better. (Laughter) During last year’s firestorm it allowed firefighters to see through the smoke, giving them a more accurate real-time view of the conditions on the ground. And because of that, many of them told me that saved lives and it saved an endless amount of homes. And this is just the start, because I have directed Teri to create a taskforce now to help other agencies and departments to tap into that vast potential of GIS.»
— From Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s keynote address at the Conference on California’s Future on May 15, 2008