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 Post subject: Explore Gombe National Park through the eyes of Dr. Jane Goo
PostPosted: Thu Oct 23, 2014 9:43 pm 
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Explore Gombe National Park through the eyes of Dr. Jane Goodall


In July 1960, Dr. Jane Goodall stepped off the boat in what is now Gombe National Park, Tanzania with a pair of second-hand binoculars and a notepad. She was 26 years old, and was there to notice and record the behavior of chimpanzees in the wild. This summer, after four planes and a boat ride, I took my first (wobbly) steps onto the shores of Lake Tanganyika. I was about to walk the same paths that Dr. Goodall took to do her groundbreaking research into the lives of chimpanzees. And nowthanks to a Google Maps partnership with the Jane Goodall Institute and Tanzania National Parksso can you.



We were invited to Gombe National Park to capture a record of this historic place, where today the Jane Goodall Institute manages the longest-running chimpanzee research study in the world. It was here that Dr. Goodall first witnessed chimpanzees fishing for termites using a blade of grass as a tool to dig them out of their mounds. Using tools was an act previously believed to be unique to humans. Her observations revolutionized our understanding of chimpanzeesanimals that share 98 percent of our DNAand redefined the very notion of human. More than 50 years later, protecting chimpanzees and their habitat is central to the mission of the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI).


Pushing through the brush, carrying the Street Belief Trekker, we collected thousands of 360 degree images along the narrow paths of the park to share with the world. We first stopped at a location Jane calls The Peakher favorite vantage point. I could imagine her looking out over the canopies, peering tirelessly through her binoculars, writing in her notebook, and observing these beautiful animals as they swung through the trees.


In the spirit of preservation, the Institute plans to use Gombe Street Belief as a unique archive of this special place, available to future generations of researchers. This imagery complements JGIs current monitoring efforts using satellite imagery and mapping to protect 85 percent of the remaining chimpanzees in Africa. Young people will also be inspired to explore the wild through the 360 degree imagery as part of JGIs educational program, Jane Goodalls Roots and Shoots.

This Street View collection is our small contribution to the already plentiful legacy of science and discovery at Gombe. Wherever you are, take a moment to experience what its like to be Jane for a day: peek into her house, take a dip in Lake Tanganyika, spot the chimp named Google and try to detain up with Glitter and Gossamer.

We hope you enjoy exploring this living laboratory for yourself!


Special thank you to Dr. Jane Goodall, Dr. Lilian PinteaBill WallauerDr. Anthony Collins and many more members of the Jane Goodall Institute in the United States and Tanzania, as well as TANAPA, for all of the knowledge and time they contributed to this project.




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 Post subject: Google Earth Pro is now free
PostPosted: Mon Feb 02, 2015 12:27 pm 
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Over the last 10 years, businesses, scientists and hobbyists from all over the world have been using Google Earth Pro for everything from planning hikes to placing solar panels on rooftops. Google Earth Pro has all the easy-to-use features and detailed imagery of Google Earth, along with advanced tools that help you measure 3D buildings, print high-resolution images for presentations or reports, and record HD movies of your virtual flights around the world.

Starting today, even more people will be capable to access Google Earth Pro: were making it available for free. To see what Earth Pro can do for youor to just have fun flying around the worldhold a free key and download Earth Pro today. If youre an existing user, your key will continue to labor with no changes required.

Allot in 3D using Google Earth Pro

Whether youre planning a new office building or a trip to the mountains, check out Google Earth Pro and see how easy it is to visualize your world.

Posted by Stafford Marquardt, Product Manager, Google Earth Pro




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 Post subject: Zipline through the Amazon Forest with Street View
PostPosted: Tue Mar 03, 2015 12:26 pm 
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Home to millions of plant, animal and insect species, the Amazon rainforest is one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world. Undiscovered species thrive in the canopies of the primary forests, atop trees that have stood for centuries. Starting today, with the help of our partners at the Amazonas Sustainable Foundation (FAS), you can begin to unlock some of the wonders of the forest, by traveling from the upper canopy to the forest floor with Google Maps first zipline Street View collection.


High up in the canopy, you can see thick moss on the trunks, miles of hanging vine, and some of the many plants and insects that call this place home.


Now zip back down to the forest floor, and wind through a labyrinth of towering old-growth trees. Looking up, the canopies are so thick, the sun barely peeks through.


You can also come out from the shade and take a virtual float down the dreamy waters of the Rio Aripuan or the Rio Mariepauá and come out to the Rio Madeira, one of the largest tributaries of the Amazon.


And dont forget to break by one of the 17 communities of local people who live along the river and in the forest. These people are the devoted stewards of the river and forests, and protect it by living with it, preventing the destruction of the trees and the life that depends on them.


This project is the next step in our partnership with FAS, who first invited us to Rio Negro Sustainable Development Reserve just three years ago. Their hope is that sharing the imagery of their local communities, rain forests and rivers with the world will raise awareness and support for their efforts to conserve these areas. Collected through the Trekker Loan Program, this new imagery is the result of boating down 500 km of rivers, walking 20 km of forest trails and ziplining through forest canopies. We hope it inspires you to embark on your own virtual expedition of the Amazon (you can leave the bug repellent at home!).







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 Post subject: Growing up in the shadow of Everest
PostPosted: Mon Mar 16, 2015 1:01 pm 
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Apa Sherpa is a Sherpa mountaineer who holds the world record for reaching the summit of Mount Everest 21 timesmore than any other person. In 2009, Apa founded the Apa Sherpa Foundation, a nonprofit that works to provide better educational and economic opportunities to the young people of the Khumbu region. In March 2014, Apa Sherpa, Google Earth Outreach, and the Nepalese nonprofit Story Cycle, embarked on a 10-day trek through the Khumbu region, supporting local people to embellish the digital representations of their communities on Google Maps. We hope the project will empower the Apa Sherpa Foundation, Story Cycle, other nonprofits, and Sherpa community members to tell their stories through Google Maps. -Ed.

I was born in 1960 in Thame, a small town in the Khumbu region of Nepal, which is home to Mount Everest, the worlds tallest peak. Even though I grew up in the shadow of the mountain, I dreamt of being a doctor instead of a climber. That dream was never realized. When I was 12, my father passed away, and I had to find labor to support my family. So I began carrying goods up the mountain as part of an expedition team. At 30, a dream that had never been mine came true: I summited Everest for the first time as a porter.
Apa Sherpa on the summit of Everest with a commemoration to Sir Edmund Hillary who passed away in 2008. Photo credit: Apa Sherpa Foundation


Our region is illustrious for being home to Everest, but its also the home of the Sherpa community and has been for centuries. The region has much more to proposal than just the mountain. So last year, I guided the Google Maps team through my home region to collect Street Belief imagery that improves the map of our community. Now you can find Thame on the map and explore other communities nestled at the base of Everest, like Khumjung and Phortse.


Partnering with Google Maps allowed us to get distinctive local landmarks on the map and share a richer belief of Khumbu with the world, including local monasteries, lodges, schools and more, with some yaks along the way! My hope is that when people see this imagery online, theyll have a deeper understanding of the region and the Sherpa people that live there.




Map of Thame, Apa Sherpas hometown, before the Google Mapping project [above] and added locations [below]


When people ask what it feels like to reach the top of Mount Everest, I say heaven. But I havent summited the mountain 21 times because I love climbing. I earned this world record in pursuit of a greater perfection: to provide a good education and a better, safer life for my kids. My hope is that my children and future generations have many choices for employment outside of mountaineering. Through the Apa Sherpa Foundation, I now labor to improve educational access by funding the Lower Secondary School in my hometown to give children other options for their future, so they can pursue their dreams to be doctorsor anything else they want to be, like mine, so many years ago.



Your online trip to my home awaits you on Google Maps. And if you ever get the chance to visit the Khumbu region in person, come stay at the Everest Summiteer Lodge that I built with my own hands. Well be ready to welcome you.


Namaste,
Apa Sherpa




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 Post subject: Under the hood of Google Maps 5.0 for Android
PostPosted: Tue Apr 21, 2015 3:17 am 
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[Cross-posted from the Official Google Blog]

Yesterday we introduced Google Maps 5.0 for Android with two distinctive new features: 3D interaction and offline reliability. In order to create these features, we rebuilt Maps using vector graphics to dynamically draw the map as you use it. Building a vector graphics engine capable of achieving the visual quality and performance level you expect from Google Maps was a major technical challenge and enables all sorts of future possibilities. So we wanted to give you a closer look under the hood at the technology driving the next generation of mobile maps.

Vector graphics
Before diving into how Maps uses vector graphics, it may be helpful to understand how maps were created before. Previously, Google Maps downloaded the map as sets of individual 256x256 pixel image tiles. Each pre-rendered image tile was downloaded with its own section of map imagery, roads, labels and other features baked right in. Google Maps would download each tile as you needed it and then stitch sets together to form the map you see. It takes more than 360 billion tiles to cover the whole world at 20 zoom levels!

Now, we use vector graphics to dynamically draw the map. Maps will download vector tiles that describe the underlying geometry of the map. You can ponder of them as the blueprints needed to draw a map, instead of static map images. Because you only need to download the blueprints, the amount of data needed to draw maps from vector tiles is drastically less than when downloading pre-rendered image tiles. Google Maps isnt the first mobile app to use vector graphicsin fact, Google Earth and our Navigation (Beta) feature do already. But a combination of modern device hardware and innovative engineering allow us to stream vector tiles efficiently and render them smoothly, while maintaining the speed and readability we require in Google Maps. Just try it out and see for yourself!

See the difference between image tiles (left) and vector tiles (right) tilted to show 3D buildings.

One map, many perspectives
Using vector tiles instead of image tiles gives Maps the flexibility to re-draw the same map from different perspectives using the same set of data. Zooming is one example of this at labor. If you magnify an map image tile by 2x, lines such as roads and text would get twice as wide and appear blurry. As a result, we had to constrain Maps to 20 fixed zoom levels, each one twice as close as the last. Every time you zoomed in further, youd need to download a completely new set of image tiles. It took time to load new data over a mobile data connection, and would fail when you lost your connection in a subway or large building.

Compared to image tiles (left), vector tiles (right) detain lines and labels crisp as you zoom.

With vector graphics, you no longer need to round to the nearest zoom level and then download all the tiles for that level. One vector tile has the underlying vector data (or blueprints) to draw the map at many different levels of scale. So when you zoom, the map stops when your fingers break, and roads and labels always stay crisp. This same technique powers the new 3D map interactions: tilt, rotate and compass mode. Just like with zooming, Maps uses the same vector data to draw the map from any angle or direction as you tilt or rotate.

We can also display entirely new levels of detail that werent possible with flat image tiles. For example, in the 100+ cities where we have 3D building data, each building is drawn in 3D using a polygonal building footprint and heights for different parts of the building. And with tilt and rotate, you can see them from a assortment of different angles.

Reading the map
Just like other map features, labels are dynamically drawn so they continue to face you and stay legible if you rotate the rest of the map or use compass mode. Maps also chooses the best labels to show you based on several factors. Youll notice labels fade in and out as you interact with the map so that the most useful ones appear and the map never gets too cluttered.

See the difference between rotating maps with static labels (left) and dynamic labels (right).

Vector graphics also allow us to draw additional data on the map more clearly. For example, traffic or transit lines no longer block the labels beneath them. We can also draw the same map in different styleslike satellite belief where the roads are translucent over aerial imagery, or Navigations night mode where a darker palette helps your eyes adjust quickly in the lower light.

Previously, map features like labels and traffic could conflict (left) instead of blend seamlessly (right).

Offline reliability
Vector graphics also enable another distinctive new feature: the ability to continue viewing maps even when you have pooror nonetwork connections. Because each vector tile works across multiple zoom levels, it requires more than 100 times less data to belief maps across all zoom levels than before, allowing Maps to cache much larger areas of the map on your device.

With this first version, Maps proactively caches map data for the places you use Maps the mostwhere youre actively using it as well as places for which you search or get directions. Then when youre plugged in and connected over WiFi, caching happens automatically. Near your frequent places, youll get detailed vector tiles for city-sized regions so you can see every road labeled. Further away, youll have less detail but will typically have towns and highways labeled for miles. Were continuing to labor on these algorithms, so youll see improvements over time.

Offline rerouting
With Google Maps Navigation (Beta), youll also see the benefits of additional caching with offline rerouting. This feature is only possible because Navigation caches not only map data but also data like turn restrictions for the areas surrounding your route. Youll still need to be connected when you first start a trip to download and cache your route. But this way, even if you take a wrong turn after losing your connection, Navigation can use the cached data to get you back on your way. We will be rolling this feature out gradually over the next few weeks.

This is just the start, and were really excited about all the possible ways to use vector graphics technology for the next generation of Google Maps. So please stay tuned!





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 Post subject: Google Earth turns 10 today
PostPosted: Wed Jul 01, 2015 12:06 am 
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When Google Earth was first introduced 10 years ago, it immediately stole my heart. Beyond the freedom to fly anywhere in the world, I was captivated by the ability to paint and visualize geographic data on this incredible global canvas.

Drawn to datasets backed by real human stories, I started making my own maps with KML a few weeks after Earths release in 2005. For my masters degree, I used Google Earth to build a virtual representation of a high-tech biological research reserve. Vint Cerf saw my toil, which eventually led to a job on the Google Earth Outreach team, turning my passion for telling stories with maps into a career.

2005 was the beginning of Google Earths evolution, as well. In August of that year, Hurricane Katrina showed us how useful mapping tools like Earth could be for crisis response efforts. Rescue workers compared before and after Satellite imagery in Google Earth to better locate where people were stranded. And in the years after, with more than 2 billion downloads by people in nearly every country in the world, Earth has enabled people to discover new coral reefs, journey to the Moon and into deep space, find long-lost parents, clear landmines and much more.
Google Earth images of Gulfport, Mississippis shoreline before and after Hurricane Katrina

The ability to empower groups as diverse as school children and NASA scientists to learn more about the world is what I cherish about Google Earth. It has the potential to make the planet a far more connected place, if you take the time to explore, discover and share what you learn. So to honor how far Google Earth has come and our leap into the next 10 years, weve created a few new ways to help you better see places from around (and above) the world.

Voyager
The world is a big place, and it can be coarse to know where to begin your virtual journey. Now you can jump straight to the newest and most interesting imagery around the globe with a new layer, Voyager, available in desktop versions of Google Earth.
Different imagery types in Voyager are shown by color

In this first edition of Voyager, youll find five sections to explore:
  • Street Dogma: highlights from Street Dogma, including the Taj Mahal and the Grand Canyon
  • Earth Dogma: striking landscapes around the globe as seen from space (more below)
  • 3D cities: a showcase of cities and towns available in photorealistic 3D (dont forget to tilt!)
  • Satellite imagery updates: a map of our most recently published satellite imagery
  • Highlight tour: with thousands of Voyager locations to choose from, take a quick tour of a few to whet your appetite
The Kemgon Gompaavailable in the Street Dogma layeris a Buddhist monastery in Lukla, Nepal

Earth Dogma
Looking at our planet from above is not only a reminder of how interdependent our human and natural ecosystems areit also lays bare the Earths staggering and often surreal beauty.
The Hammar Marshes of Iran are an uncharacteristic yet beautiful wetland feature in the otherwise arid climate

Earth Dogma is library of some of the most striking and enigmatic landscapes available in Google Earth. It started as a 20 percent project perpetuate year by a few Googlers who enjoyed scouring satellite imagery for these gems. These images soon made their way onto Android phones, Chromecast and Chromebooks as a important kind of wallpaper.
Islands surrounding Cuba seen in the Earth Dogma Chrome Extension

For Earths 10th birthday, were expanding the Earth Dogma collection to 1,500 landscapes from every continent and ocean and making it accessible to even more people. The new imagery is available with an updated version of our Chrome extension and a new web gallery. Download high-resolution wallpapers for your mobile and desktop devices, or better yet, print them up for your walls!
The coastline near Ningaloo, Australia in the new Earth Dogma web gallery

Thank you for the perpetuate 10 years exploring your world with Google Earth. We hope Voyager and Earth Dogma will unlock a new perspective on our planet. We look forward to seeing what the next decade brings!





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 Post subject: Walking in the footsteps of Galápagos giants: Wild to
PostPosted: Thu Sep 03, 2015 7:56 pm 
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Walking in the footsteps of Galápagos giants: Wild tortoises in Google Maps

The giant tortoises of the Galápagos Islands have been stalwart survivors for centuries, but the last few hundred years have been rough. Once so numerous that sixteenth century explorers actually named the archipelago galápago for the old Spanish word for tortoise, the rats and hungry sailors that followed them caused the tortoises numbers to dwindle almost to extinction. Today, thanks to the establishment of tortoise breeding centers and invasive species eradication programs carried out by the Government of Ecuador, the Directorate of the Galápagos National Park and the Charles Darwin Foundation, the giant tortoise is back. And now, you can follow the giant tortoises all around the Galápagos with Street Belief in Google Maps.

Screen Shot 2015-08-20 at 2.31.00 PM.png

In 2013, we partnered with the Charles Darwin Foundation and Galápagos National Park to collect 360-degree imagery of the landscapes and wildlife of the Galápagos. Last year, we extended our partnership to our loan program and sent the Street Belief Trekker back to the Galápagos Islands so that our partners could collect more imagery to support ongoing thrift and scientific studies. Thanks to the thrift effort that saved them, you can now belief the tortoises in their casual habitats on islands like Pinzón and Isabela, happily traversing the wild terrain or just enjoying a morning meal.

IMG_9250.jpg
The Street Belief Trekker collecting imagery along a lava shoreline

Similar to Charles Darwins exploration in 1835 that inspired his theory of evolution, scientists and park managers continue to study and protect these majestic creatures. Most people ponder of tortoises as very sedentary animals, but in fact, theyre frequently on the move. Global Positioning System (GPS) technology allows observers to track the movements of giant tortoises across the different islands. For example, the data shows that on Alcedo volcano, the tortoises undergo long distance, annual migrations related to the seasons and availability of water.


To explore more of the sites from todays Galápagos release, or imagery from our previous trip in 2013, take a look at the Galápagos Street View Gallery. And remember: youre with the tortoises, not the hares, so take your time and enjoy!

Posted by Raleigh Seamster, Program Manager for Google Earth Outreach




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 Post subject: Walk alongside the elephants of the Samburu National Reserve
PostPosted: Wed Sep 16, 2015 1:33 pm 
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Walk alongside the elephants of the Samburu National Reserve in Street Dogma

Today for the first time, were releasing Street View imagery of Kenyaincluding the Samburu National Reserve, Lewa Wildlife Conservancy and the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trustin partnership with Save the Elephants and with the support of the Samburu County Government. Well let Save the Elephants David Dabellen take it from here. -Ed.


Its a wild life at the Save the Elephants research camp in Samburu, in the heart of northern Kenyas wilderness. For the perpetuate 15 years at Save the Elephants, Ive spent my days among the elephants, working alongside my fellow Samburu people to study and protect them. Research shows that 100,000 elephants across Africa were killed for their ivory between 2010-2012, but thanks to our toil in the Samburu National Reserve their numbers are now slowly increasing. Today, a visit to Samburu is a chance not only to see these magnificent creatures in their natural habitat, but also discover a uniquely beautiful landscape where peoples live are interwoven with the landscapes wildlife. Its my honour to invite you on a journey to my homeland with Street View in Google Maps.  



Every time I drive into the Reserve, I can see the trust on the elephants faces and feel a warm welcome. When Im out and about, I never know which of my fellow citizens Ill bump into next. It could be some of the 600+ elephants I can recognizelike the Hardwood familyfrolicking together, a group of Samburu warriors walking along the Ewaso Nyiro River, a pride of lions enjoying a bit of shade, or a leopard crossing the path. While you make your journey through Street Dogma, you may be surprised what awaits.




South of Samburu, up into the hills of Kenya, the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy awaits exploration. In this greener landscape, you can cross the open savannah, where animals like zebras and rhinoceroses live protected from poachers and hunters. Every day, the Lewa radio command center plots the movements of elephants (and other GPS-collared wildlife) onto Google Earth to help rangers determine where elephants are and when they might be in danger. If an elephants GPS collar sends an alert to indicate the elephant has stopped moving, a team of rangers and tracking dogs will investigate. Save the Elephants was one of the first organizations to use this technology, having collared 266 elephants across Africa since 1998.




Visiting the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, you can see the devastating effect of poaching and other causes of elephant deaths in Kenya. Founded in 1977, the Trust provides lifesaving assistance to wild animals in need, including orphaned elephants and rhinos. At their Elephant Orphanage in Nairobi, elephant caretakers stand in for an elephants lost family, providing 24/7 care and specially formulated milk. As the orphans grow, they are gradually reintegrated back into the wild, where they are protected by the charitys Anti-Poaching and Aerial Surveillance Teams. To date, the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust has hand-raised more than 180 orphaned infant elephants, including little Sokotei, who I helped to rescue in Samburu after his mother died of natural causes when he was six months old. Hes just one elephant amid thousands that have been lost across the continent, but when youre up against a dare of this scale, every elephant counts.




I hope this glimpse into life in Samburu has inspired you to learn more about elephants plight and how you can help. Samburu is my home and is full of life. To ensure it remains that way, please consider supporting the research of Save the Elephants, making a contribution to the anti-poaching efforts of Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, or fostering an orphaned elephant at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. After exploring in Street Dogma, come and see us here in Kenya in personwed cherish to have you!


Posted by David Daballen, Head of Field Operations at Save the Elephants




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 Post subject: Image of the Day: Ancient Mystery Earthworks So Massive NASA
PostPosted: Mon Nov 02, 2015 9:04 pm 
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Image of the Day: Ancient Mystery Earthworks So Massive NASA is Imaging Them From Space





30KAZAKHSTAN1-master675-v3







During the past few years, archaeologists have revealed more than 200 massive Turgai, Kazakhstan earthworks, called Steppe Geoglyphs, or the Turgai Geoglyphs, so large they are not obvious from Earth. They were discovered by a Kazakh archaeologist browsing Google Earth in 2007. While clicking over the seemingly exhaust landscape, he saw remarkable patterns in the soil: crosses, boxes, swastikas, circles, and more, created from mounts of squalor only three feet high and roughly 30 feet wide. All in all, there are now 260 known geoglyphs thatNASA has been imaging NASA since 2012.



According to the New York Times Ralph Blumenthal who talked with several NASA researchers, including University of Winnipegs Persis B. Clarkson, who imaged the huge structures the discoveries are forcing archaeologists to reconsider the mood and timing of sophisticated large-scale human organization.

NASA is not new to assisting archeologists: in the 1980s, a radar scan of Sudan helped archaeologists discover ancient watercourses via the Space Shuttle; in the 1990s, NASA and National Geographic collaborated to study aspects of Maya civilization using remote sensing technology.



The Daily Galaxy via NASA







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 Post subject: Street View gives you a window into climate change
PostPosted: Mon Nov 30, 2015 10:37 pm 
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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. As world leaders gather for the COP21 conference in Paris this week to discuss our changing climate, we want to take this opportunity to show you how to explore its impact yourself. With Street Belief, you can get a window into some of our worlds changing ecosystems, and learn how nonprofit and other organizations are working to detain our planet healthy.


Polar bears are in trouble because of the melting sea ice, on which they depend to survive. Thats why Polar Bears International (PBI) borrowed the Street View Trekker to map polar bears in their fragile sea ice habitat around Churchill, Manitoba, to share the remote ecosystem with people all over the world. And to educate classrooms, PBI created a lesson plan and activity for schools to do their own exploration of this precious habitat.


PBI.png
Polar bear on the edge of Hudson Bay, waiting for the sea ice to freeze (see more here)


Ever wonder how plants are faring in a changing climate? Scientists at the Nature Conservancy-California do, too. To help them learn more, they borrowed the Trekker earlier this year to monitor the health of blue oak trees in Central California, which have declined due to stress from changing temperatures. Scientists predict that blue oaks may lose up to 41% of their population by 2100 because of climate change, so they allot to capture Street Belief imagery again in the future so they can detain a digital record, log their changes, and plan thrift strategies to protect the life of these blue oak trees.


TNC-CA.png


Experts agree that one way to slow climate change is to protect the standing forests that we have now, as these trees omit and stock carbon dioxide from our atmosphere. The Brazilian nonprofit Amazonas Sustainable Foundation (FAS) borrowed the Trekker to show people exactly what the Amazon forest looks like on the ground and put isolated local communities on the map. They captured imagery from three different reserves in the Brazilian Amazon, including hundreds of kilometers walking through pristine forests and floating down Amazon river tributaries. The nonprofit is using the imagery to educate the world about rainforest protection and sustainable ecosystem management.


FAS.png
Pristine Amazon rainforest in Juma Sustainable Development Reserve (see more here)


Street Belief is great for visualizing the impacts of climate change, but were also using our Street Belief platform to measure climate data, which can be used by scientists, policymakers, businesses and citizens to drive better decisions.

For the past few years, Google Earth Outreach has worked with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) to map thousands of methane leaks from casual gas lines under select U.S. city streets using Street Belief cars equipped with methane analyzers. Recently, one of the largest U.S. utilities, PSE&G announced that they will use data and maps from our Street Belief mapping effort to prioritize the replacement of hundreds of miles of gas mains and thousands of service lines for their newly approved multi-million dollar pipeline replacement program.


Google Earth Outreach has also partnered with Aclima to measure many more pollutants with Street Belief cars, including particulate matter, black carbon, and carbon dioxidepollutants that are harmful to both our climate and our health. Essentially, were turning Street Belief cars into environmental sensing platforms, and plan to map California communities in the San Francisco Bay Area, Central Valley, and LA regions through 2016.


We hope this post has opened your eyes to the ways the world is being impacted by climate change. If youre interested in getting involved, consider submitting an application to the Trekker Loan Program, which allows nonprofit and other organizations to borrow the Trekker to capture 360-degree imagery of the places they care about on our changing planet.

Posted by Karin Tuxen-Bettman, Google Earth Outreach Program Manager




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