Surveying the big issues.

Another group of subjects being talked about on the world stage commands less attention here in the States than in other countries. These are what I think of as the “Big Issues.” Global spatial data infrastructure. Mutual recognition of professional qualifications. ISO - the International Standards Organization. Globalization. Privatization. Sustainable development. Most U.S. surveyors seem to think these issues are too far removed from their practice and will have little or no effect on them in the long run, and are—for the short term—too theoretical to be of any practical interest. And, in fact, the typical surveyor whose sphere of business activity is the dozen communities within 25 miles of the office will probably never have to worry about a surveyor from Europe or South America setting up shop down the street; will probably never have to deal with standards coming out of ISO/TC211; and may be only mildly interested in the globalization phenomenon as she or he reads about 60s-style demonstrators marching up and down in front of the Waldorf-Astoria outside the current World Economic Forum. Privatization is something that happens in formerly communist countries and sustainable development is a swell idea if it can be achieved, but is beyond the influence of the surveyor trying to make a living in private practice.