Using SQL Functions – Spatial and Non-Spatial

Beginning with a data question is the most efficient process for writing SQL queries. This may be a problem you are trying to solve or perhaps a null hypothesis. Once we have an articulated question, we will be tasked with locating data. The final steps are to analyze the problem and communicate the results.

I would argue that this is particularly relevant when learning how to write efficient SQL queries. There is a natural cadence and syntax that differs from writing a code snippet in, say, Python or R.

The datasets we are exploring are from the Amazon rainforest in Brazil. Mining activities in the Amazon rainforest are a known provocation for deforestation and the associated impact of toxic pollution on surrounding communities. Mining activities also require dense road networks for transportation and infrastructure to support industrial mining, which impacts the growth of surrounding vegetation, pollution run-off, and habitats...