Google has integrated a new feature in the Google Earth program as a result of a collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP): the possibility of seeing "then" and "now" satellite photos of various areas. One can now get a vivid picture of 100 hot spots depicting forest destruction, retreating glaciers, explosive urban growth and land reclamation from the sea.
"These satellite pictures are a wake-up call to all of us to look at the sometimes devastating changes
we are wreaking on our planet," UNEP chief Achim Steiner said in a statement. "Through spectacular imagery, Google Earth and UNEP offer a new way of visualizing the dangers facing our planet today. By tapping into the global Google community, we are able to reach out to millions of people who can mobilize and make a difference."
The 100 hot spots focus on both environmental problems such as the retreating of Island's Breidamerkurjokull glacier, the destruction of the Amazonian forest in Brazil, the declines of Central Asia's Aral Sea and Africa's Lake Chad, the destruction of mangrove forests in Southeast Asia, notably in Thailand and Malaysia or the effects of oil exploration in Prudhoe Bay in United States as well as on spectacular developments such as the rapid urbanization of Las Vegas and of the southern Chinese metropolis of Shenzen or the obtaining of large amounts of usable land from the sea by Japan and Netherlands.
"Google Earth technology already allows a more informative and accessible means of delivering information about our changing environment," said the project coordinator, Ashbindu Singh, of UNEP's Division of Early Warning and Assessment. "By keeping pace with the changing world of technology and media, UNEP helps the environmental community keep pace with the real changes in our real world."
The UNEP content can be viewed in Google Earth by selecting "Featured Content" in the Layers panel in the program. Other features include information from National Geographic, the Jane Goodall Institute in Africa, and the Discovery World Tour.
