1. A system comprising: a processor; a sensor interface responsive to the processor; and memory responsive to the processor, the memory including program instructions operable to direct the processor to: implement a kernel-mode device driver for gathering data via the sensor interface and for manipulating a journal based data system; implement a plurality of variable definitions in the journal based data system, each variable definition of the plurality of variable definitions being associated with at least one sensor and indicating a data type for environmental data gathered from the associated at least one sensor; implement a plurality of variable update records in the journal based data system, each variable update record of the plurality of variable update records being associated with at least one of the plurality of variable definitions and having a value of the data type indicated by the associated at least one of the plurality of variable definitions; gather, via the kernel-mode device driver, the environmental data from the at least one sensor; and store the environmental data in at least one of the plurality of variable update records associated with at least one of the plurality of variable definitions associated with the at least one sensor.