Import Cartography points to a segment on NPR about the USGS’s National Grid. This in turn prompts an “angry listener” post on DoRealTime, which asks, in part,

How can military and civilian emergency teams collaborate if they’re speaking different mapping languages? And why is GoogleEarth, who I would expect to be on the cutting edge of mapping technologies, NOT on a par with this free service over at USGS?

Because latitude and longitude are understood in New Orleans and Pakistan alike? Because in Google Earth you can roll your own layers if you want something? Because Google Earth is free and looking a gift horse in the mouth is unseemly?

There is some debate about the usfulness of different grid systems on All Points Blog as well, in response to this article on he US National Grid on FCW.com.

(Find out how to read US National Grid spatial address here. Convert between USNG and lat/long using this PC application courtesy of the National Geodetic Survey, or a rather impressive-looking Corpscon 6, courtesy of the US Corps of Engineers.)