Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
consequences from any terrorist attack. It is a sector of trained and tested person-
nel, plans, redundant systems, agreements, and pacts that provide life safety and
security services across the nation via the first-responder community comprising
federal, state, local, tribal, and private partners. The ESS is representative of the fol-
lowing first-responder disciplines: emergency management, emergency medical ser-
vices, fire, hazardous material, law enforcement, bomb squads, tactical operations/
special weapons assault teams, and search and rescue.
Energy
The U.S. energy infrastructure fuels the economy of the twenty-first century.
Without a stable energy supply, health and welfare are threatened and the U.S.
economy cannot function. More than 80% of the country's energy infrastructure
is owned by the private sector. The energy infrastructure is divided into three inter-
related segments: electricity, petroleum, and natural gas. The sector's reliance on
pipelines highlights the interdependency with the Transportation Sector, and the
reliance on the Energy Sector for power means that virtually all sectors have depen-
dencies on this sector.
Government Facilities
The Government Facilities Sector includes a wide variety of buildings, owned or
leased by federal, state, territorial, local or tribal governments, located domesti-
cally and overseas. Many government facilities are open to the public for business
activities, commercial transactions, or recreational activities. Others not open to
the public contain highly sensitive information, materials, processes, and equip-
ment. This includes general-use office buildings and special-use military installa-
tions, embassies, courthouses, national laboratories, and structures that may house
critical equipment and systems, networks, and functions.
Healthcare and Public Health
The Healthcare and Public Health Sector constitutes approximately 15% of the
gross national product with roughly 85% of the sector's assets privately owned and
operated. Operating in all U.S. states, territories, and tribal areas, the Healthcare
and Public Health Sector plays a significant role in response and recovery across all
other sectors in the event of a natural or man-made disaster.
Information Technology
The Information Technology (IT) Sector is central to the nation's security, econ-
omy, and public health and safety. Businesses, governments, academia, and pri-
vate citizens are increasingly dependent on IT Sector functions. These virtual and
