[postgis-users] Projection(s) for global point-and-radius searches

[David Jantzen]

Hey All,

It's been a couple years but happily I have a reason to work with PostGIS again!  I'm rusty, and this is pretty a basic question, so if you just specify the chapter in TFM I'll happily go read it.

I need to do simple point-and-radius searches for some properties in Germany.  Very soon I'll need to do this same thing across Europe and North America, and some in Asia.  My understanding is that the accuracy of such measurements will degrade as I use projections covering larger and larger geographical areas. 

So, some questions:
1) Is there a single global projection that I could use for all such calculations?  How bad would the distortions be and where?  
2) Assuming the correct path is to switch projections depending on area of focus, what are some strategies for this kind of dynamic switching in SQL queries?

Thanks for your help (and patience),
David