Networked database system for geographically dispersed global sustainability data

Claim 1

A computer implemented method for facilitating the storage of data and the communication of information among a plurality of geographically separated entities working to solve problems related to global sustainability, said method comprising the steps of: organizing data relating to said global sustainability problems into a plurality of hierarchies of interrelated subproblems of said global sustainability problems stored on media on a plurality of computer systems interconnected by a plurality of communications links, each subproblem of said hierarchies belonging to a category and having at least one topic and one concept; defining the connectivities between data among and within said hierarchies of interrelated subproblems stored on media on said plurality of computer systems; providing a mapping between the data related to each of said subproblem and said computer systems of said plurality of computer systems storing said data; providing access, for each of said plurality of entities, to the data within any of said subproblems stored on media on any of said plurality of computer systems by said plurality of said computer systems in response to said mapping; providing access to data and information in any of said plurality of hierarchies of interrelated subproblems on any of said computer systems of said plurality of computer systems from any of said subproblems according to said defined connectivities and in response to said mapping; permitting the exchange of information relating to global sustainability among said plurality of entities permitting said data and information related to global sustainability stored on media on said plurality of computer systems to be updated by selected ones of said plurality of entities in response to said communication of information relating to global sustainability among said plurality of geographically separated entities.

Claim 8

A system of computers for facilitating the storage of data and the communication of information among a plurality of geographically separated entities working to solve problems related to global sustainability, said system comprising a plurality of computer systems interconnected by said computer network; wherein at least two of said plurality of computer systems having data relating to said global sustainability problems in a distributed database located on media, said distributed database organized into a plurality of hierarchies of interrelated subproblems of said global sustainability, each subproblem of said hierarchies belonging to a category and having at least one topic and one concept, wherein each database comprising connectivities between data among and within said hierarchies of interrelated subproblems stored on said at least two computer systems; wherein a system mapper provides a mapping between the data related to each of said subproblem and said at least two computer systems storing said data; wherein each of said plurality of computers provides access, for each of said plurality of entities, to the data within any of said subproblems stored on any of said plurality of computer systems by said plurality of said computer systems in response to said mapping according to said defined connectivities and in response to said mapping.

Claim 9

A system of computers for facilitating the storage of data and the communication of information among a plurality of geographically separated entities working to solve problems related to global sustainability, said system comprising a plurality of computer systems interconnected by said computer network; wherein at least two of said plurality of computer systems having data relating to said global sustainability problems in a distributed database located on media, said distributed database organized into a plurality of hierarchies of interrelated subproblems of said global sustainability, each subproblem of said hierarchies belonging to a category and having at least one topic and one concept, wherein each database comprising connectivities between data among and within said hierarchies of interrelated subproblems stored on said at least two computer systems; wherein a system mapper provides a mapping between the data related to each of said subproblem and said at least two computer systems storing said data; wherein each of said plurality of computers provides access, for each of said plurality of entities, to the data within any of said subproblems stored on any of said plurality of computer systems by said plurality of said computer systems in response to said mapping according to said defined connectivities and in response to said mapping.