Google+ demonstrates deforestation and other man-made climate disasters with satellite images
May 18, 2013It’s one thing to talk about deforestation, disappearing habitats, and shrinking glaciers and water resources, and another thing entirely to demonstrate it with actual satellite imagery. And thanks to Landsat images and the Google Earth Engine, we’re getting a glimpse at some key locations across the planet as they are changed by the hands of man. A series of interactive timelapse GIFs that use Landsat satellite data to display massive changes to the Earth’s surface could be a potent tool for motivating individuals and organizations to take action on key issues.
Google’s Animated GIFs of Earth Over Time focuses our attention on key features of our planet, such as the Amazon rainforest, the coal beds of Wyoming, the Columbia Glacier, the Aral Sea, and the deserts of Saudi Arabia.
Today, we’re making it possible for you to go back in time and get a stunning historical perspective on the changes to the Earth’s surface over time. Working with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), NASA and TIME, we’re releasing more than a quarter-century of images of Earth taken from space, compiled for the first time into an interactive time-lapse experience. We believe this is the most comprehensive picture of our changing planet ever made available to the public.
Some of the visualizations are kind of subtle, and need to be put into context to really hit home (such as the massive increase in irrigated areas in Saudi Arabia, which affects local water supplies, or the urban sprawl of Las Vegas, which also puts increased demands on local resources), but some of them, such as this one documenting the rapidly disappearing rainforest in the Brazilian Amazon, speak for themselves:
Explore a global timelapse of our planet, constructed from Landsat satellite imagery. The Amazon rainforest is shrinking at a rapid rate to provide land for farming and raising cattle. Each frame of the timelapse map is constructed from a year of Landsat satellite data, constituting an annual 1.7-terapixel snapshot of the Earth at 30-meter resolution.
- Google Earth Engine
These interactive time-lapse images can be manipulated by pausing or zooming in to them, as we’ve come to expect from Google Earth, and may serve as a pivot point for those who are on the fence about the effects that our booming population and its increased demand for resources has on our Big Blue Marble.
You can view all of the images at Google +, and you can read a backstory at TIME.
A Clean River is a Fun River
(via feed-well)
Amsterdam, the canal rings
From Centers of Death to Centers of Creation: Adaptively Re-Using Slaughterhouses
The former slaughterhouse in the Testaccio section of Rome. Once home to a massive slaughter operation, and responsible for providing a steady stream of meat to Roman citizens from 1891 to 1975, it is now is home to a museum and arts center, funky art installations, non-profit associations, shops, venues, and space for interesting events (I.e. beer festivals).
It’s a little eerie to walk alongside the former pens, to look up and see the meat hooks that still hang from the ceilings, or to envision the number of animals that must have passed through here; but its an important piece of maintaining the history and character of the place. Its also an important food experience, in a world where most people are increasingly out of touch with where their food comes from or what processes it went through to get to them. In one breath, you can be inspired by a modern piece of art or music, while also becoming conscious of the scale and infrastructure required for meat operations.
Overall, they’ve done a great job of coming up with interesting uses and bringing some of the empty spaces to life. I hope they continue to be creative, as I’m sure there’s even more that can be done. As you can see from the pictures, the space maintains a significantly empty feeling, even with a large event like a beer festival going on. In any case, I’m glad to see the space being re-used and maintained, rather than torn down for the purpose of developing something new. It can really function for so many purposes.
Photos taken April, 2013
Related Posts:
Discovering Italian Craft Beer (beer festival in the slaughterhouse)
Monte Testaccio (sits just across from the slaughterhouse. Formerly housed stables and other related facilities)
Some interesting external links:
Design Observer: Trash Heap of History: Extensive post about the history and design of the area, and how it provides insights for modern urban redevelopment and reclamation
Food Lover’s Odyssey: Offals in Testaccio: Some history of the slaughterhouse and offals, which are quite popular in Rome. There is a reason!
Rome Art Lover: Testaccio: Some neighborhood history, including architecture, housing, development, food, and more.
Slaughterhouses: Princeton wiki on slaughterhouse design, terminology, history, amounts of animals processed, etc.
Infographic: The Intricate Anatomy Of UX Design
THIS MEGA GRAPHIC ATTEMPTS TO TACKLE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN UX AND ALL OTHER ASPECTS OF DESIGN.
Via FastCoDesign
