Google opens online window on toll of climate change

SAN FRANCISCO, California — As world leaders gathered in Paris on Monday in the hope to stopping catastrophic climate change, Google Maps provided online views of remote locations where wildlife is struggling for survival.

A “Street View” feature at the free online map service has grown from simply showing scenes outside of business or residential addresses to allowing arm chair adventurers to virtually explore mountains, rain forests, ocean depths and more.

Some settings find creatures in dire straits, such as polar bear in the Canadian Arctic appearing to desperately wait for bay ice that doesn’t form because temperatures are too warm.

“From polar bears in the Canadian Arctic, to communities in the Brazilian Amazon, to blue oak trees in Central California, the impacts of climate change are being felt by plants, animals and people across the planet,” said Google Earth outreach program manager Karin Tuxen-Bettman.

“With Street View, you can get a window into some of our world’s changing ecosystems, and learn how nonprofit and other organizations are working to keep our planet healthy.”

Polar Bears International (PBI) borrowed Street View Trekker 360-degree camera and location-pinpointing gear to enhance maps with scenes of polar bears in Manitoba as the sea ice on which they depend vanishes.

PBI incorporated the Street View scenes into its website and a lesson plan for schools to help children learn about the habitat.

Brazilian nonprofit Amazonas Sustainable Foundation (FAS) used Trekker Gear to capture scenes in the Amazon forest and put isolated local communities on the map.

FAS captured imagery from three reserves in the Amazon and uses it for education about rain forest protection and sustainable ecosystem management, according to Google.

- Visualizing climate change -The initiatives aims to make climate change more real for people and inspire them to act by allowing them to virtually explore remote areas, and see beauty lost or under threat due to climate change.

Street View imagery also allows for comparisons over time to show how environments are changing along with the climate.

“Street View is great for visualizing the impacts of climate change, but we’re also using our Street View platform to measure climate data, which can be used by scientists, policymakers, businesses and citizens to drive better decisions,” Tuxen-Bettman said.

Google Earth has worked for several years with the Environmental Defense Fund to map methane leaks from natural gas lines under an array of US cities by equipping Street View cars with special gear, according to Tuxen-Bettman.

Street View cars will begin measuring more pollutants, such as climate change culprit carbon dioxide, in an alliance with environmental sensor network specialty firm Aclima, according to California-based Google.

“Essentially, we’re turning Street View cars into environmental sensing platforms,” Tuxen-Bettman said, noting that they will first be put to work in California communities.

source: interaksyon.com

Smile, you’re now on Google Street View camera

MANILA, Philippines — The online search giant Google will now deploy its vehicles to the country to capture street-level imagery as well as panoramic views of different streets and destinations in the Philippines.

The initiative, which is being undertaken with support from the Department of Tourism (DO)T, will kickoff in Manila where the colorful Street View cars, which has a crystal ball-like special camera perched on top, will roam to collect panoramic imagery. The collected images may then be viewed at Google’s Street View, which allows users to explore cities through 360-degree images at street level.

As a start, Google has published Street View panoramas of four key sites in Intramuros, namely San Agustin Church, Baluarte de San Diego, Plaza San Luis Complex, and Fort Santiago. The initial panoramas were collected using Google’s Street View Trekker, which is a wearable backpack with a camera mounted atop the gear. Google said that they are planning to use the Street View Trekker in conjunction with the Street View Trolley, a pushcart camera system, to capture more of the country’s off-road locations.

DOT is hoping that the technology will help showcase the country’s beauty to the world.

“Our partnership with Google to bring Street View to the Philippines will allow us to create a digital experience of our landscapes, which we hope will entice more people around the world to learn about our diverse offerings,” DOT Secretary Ramon Jimenez said in a press release.

“For us here at home, Street View can also help make the maps of our country even ‘more fun’ and interesting, as well as enable Filipinos to explore their country more, which in turn can help boost domestic travel and tourism,” Jimenez added.

Ryan Morales, Google Philippines marketing manager, said that they are “delighted to work with the DOT.”

“The Philippines is a diverse archipelago with heritage and beauty to be found within and in between every island. By providing people and businesses alike with more useful map information, Street View can also help celebrate Filipino culture and even create lasting economic impact,” Morales said.

Addressing concerns that the Street View invades privacy, Google said that they use technology to blur human faces and license plates of vehicles. The company said that they are also open to requests from users to further blur any image that features them.

source: interaksyon.com