Google Earth Gone Green
By Jenna Kirkman
Filed Under Green Living, The Big Picture | 1 Comment
Google Earth lets you zoom through three-dimensional Appalachian mountains, map out your dream vacation in Tahiti, or “fly” to a high-resolution satellite image of your very own home. The newest version comes equipped with close-up street views, 3D buildings, and stargazing abilities, but it is more than just fun and games – Google Earth is becoming one of the most important eco-tools of our time.
Already, Google Earth 4.3 comes with a Global Awareness feature that calls attention to eco-attractions like Fair Trade Certified Farms, Greenpeace Climate Control Areas, and Unicef Water and Sanitation Projects. Other businesses have been teaming up with Google Earth to provide add-on downloads in Keyhole Markup Language (KML) format in order to showcase international issues.
Basically, these KMLs enhance your view and global knowledge by painting a layer of interactive data and information over the Google Earth globe. Popular add-ons include: Disappearing Forests, Green Buildings, and EDGE Endangered Mammals. The Climate Change in Our World application, created by Google and Met Office Hadley Centre, not only shows current temperature stats, but also projects possible warming trends from now until November 2099.
Recently, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has joined Google to create two add-ons that help American businesses, communities, and the general public track the main source of environmental evil – pollution.
In the first add-on, the EPA pinpoints locations from the United States Emissions File, which divides pollution into seven major point-source sectors; Cement Facilities, Chemical Manufacturing, Electric Generating Units (EGU), Natural Gas Pipelines, Oil and Gas Production, Petroleum Refineries, and Pulp and Paper Industries.
On the map, sectors are color-coded and can be clicked to reveal the company’s name, location, and a summary graphing total emissions from six common pollutants; carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, particulate matter, and sulfur dioxide. Pretty cool.
Even cooler, though, is the EPA’s second add-on, Air Now, which shows you the current Air Quality Index (AQI) for certain areas of the United States, updated every hour, and forecasts 
tomorrow’s AQI, too. An area’s AQI predicts how the air quality will affect your health, and is based on a color-coded scale from 0 – 500, with 0 (green) being completely safe, and 500 (red) the most hazardous.
The UK Air Quality Archive has a similar Air Pollution add-on, and the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) has produced a similar emissions application that maps pollution in Canada and Mexico in addition to the US, but a worldwide air pollution and emissions add-on is yet to be found.
Still, Google Earth’s revolutionary display of global data and statistics, and its ability to connect cultures in a creative new way, has made details about air pollution and emissions easily accessible and of interest to everyone.
Individuals who are searching for a vacation destination or a new home will steer clear of heavy pollution. As a result, new real estate and tourist attractions will be built in lower-risk areas. Businesses will move or implement new branches within less polluted communities, which will motivate these regions to sustain their green reputation. And most importantly, these trends will help inspire communities and businesses in heavily polluted areas to lower emissions and clean up their act.
Want to check out Google Earth for yourself?
- Read over the User Guide, and download the free version of Google Earth.
- Browse Google Earth 4.3’s already awesome features located in the bottom left navigation window, or search for downloadable KMLs that spark your interest.
- Visit Google Earth Outreach to find businesses, non-profits, and individuals who want to share a global message, or to seek help in creating your own KML.
Posted on September 26, 2008 |
Permaculture 101: Feed The People: What Everyone Can Learn From The Cuban Oil Crisis
By Erin Gallagher
Filed Under The Big Picture | 7 Comments
Another day passes and the buzz about fuel prices and dwindling oil reserves hangs (along with the rush-hour traffic exhaust) in the evening air. The future of our global petroleum-based economy is a picture that not many of us want to paint, yet it is unavoidable not to ask what our lives may look like when the last drop of oil has burned.
In the US, the average person currently requires 7 barrels of oil to operate their home (heating, cooling and electricity), 9 barrels to power their vehicle and 10 to grow and transport the food they eat. Does ten barrels of oil for food sound surprising? The food industry is an extremely energy intensive process that has been expanded and commercialized to a point where industrial-sized machinery and mass production methods such as monopolized corporate farms and indiscriminate pesticide use are necessary to keep up with demand.
Fortunately, there is a country who can provide us with an image of what that the not-so-distant future without oil may look like. Cuba faced a crisis due to oil shortage with the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Oil exports abruptly dropped 50% and the country lost 80% of it’s international trade economy.
Food production quickly became Cuba’s number one issue after their oil supply dwindled. Buses stopped running, factories became silent, tractors sat on the side of the road and people began to realize that food was not making the long journey from the farm to the city. People began to starve. Within a few months the average person lost 25 pounds and malnutrition in pregnant women and small children became the dominant issues for the medical community. Continue reading Permaculture 101: Feed The People: What Everyone Can Learn From The Cuban Oil Crisis…
Posted on August 29, 2008 |
Exposing: The People’s Grocery
By Erin Gallagher
Filed Under eCo TV | 1 Comment
Q: What is the second largest cause of death in America?
A: Eating unhealthy food and sitting around
The People’s Grocery is a revolutionary, community oriented, citizen-driven project that began by identifying an opportunity to supply organically produced food to those who could not afford it due to the poorly designed US food system. It has succeeded in creating a thriving urban agricultural landscape in West Oakland, California by educating local citizens on urban farming techniques and thereby increasing the health of the entire community. Inspiring and insightful, this short film by the Global Oneness Project models what can and should be done in most urban settings to offset the effects of exponentially rising transportation costs and live a healthier life.
Click here to check out what else the Global Oneness Project is up to.
Statistical Source: The Center for Disease Control
Posted on August 13, 2008 |
BALLE: Creating A Community-Based Global Economy
By Jenna Kirkman
Filed Under Conscious Commerce | 2 Comments
After reading last month’s article on food miles, it is clear that the corporate centralization of global food supply means ‘efficient’ mass production that works against all standards of environmental responsibility and health. Without an alternative, eating a fresh, healthy diet would be a hard fought battle, yet thankfully, the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) has a firm grasp on the issue.
BALLE is a network that inter-connects sustainable businesses throughout the world. The businesses involved share a common desire to reduce energy use, produce less waste, support localized economies, and explore new green opportunities including fair trade, fair wages, and healthy work environments for an integrated, sustainable economy. Continue reading BALLE: Creating A Community-Based Global Economy…
Posted on August 4, 2008 |
Modern Philanthropy: The New American Dream
By Lizbeth M. Brown, Esq.
Filed Under Modern Philanthropy | 1 Comment
There is a new form of philanthropy brewing. The traditional forms of giving have been phenomenal, but today’s colossal issues require an evolution of this art. Today’s philanthropy requires a collective response. It’s about pooling our distinct abilities as individuals and addressing ecological crises, corporate encroachment, and warfare as a group. If we were each working alone, these tasks would be daunting, and even paralyzing. The recognition of the modern philanthropist is that together, “Si, Se Puede.” Yes, we can.
Common Ground Health Clinic is a community clinic, founded in Louisiana in the immediate wake of the Hurricane Katrina disaster. It’s one of eConscious Market’s non-profit partners. I love their slogan “Solidarity, not charity.” This notion exemplifies Modern Philanthropy because it is participative. It forms a collective of humans who care to improve their community and in doing so, their own lives, and the world. It brings people together in a common cause and movement towards the vision of a better imminent tomorrow.
Continue reading Modern Philanthropy: The New American Dream…
Posted on April 21, 2008 |
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