Global Deforestation Demoed In Google Earth 207
eldavojohn writes "On Google's official blog, they claim a 'new technology prototype that enables online, global-scale observation and measurement of changes in the earth's forests.' Ars has more details on what Google unveiled at Copenhagen. If you have Google Earth installed, you can find a demonstration here. Many organizations and government agencies are on board with this initiative to put deforestation before the eyes of the public. If only satellite data of North America existed before the logging industry swept in!" It's interesting to contemplate the implications for intelligence gathering of Google's automated tools to compare satellite photos.
Re:Trees (Score:3, Funny)
We can fix this! (Score:4, Funny)
Re:You might not be as right as you think (Score:1, Funny)
Deforestation is myth. It's being pushed by so-called scientists who want to destroy capitalism. If you don't publish papers showing that deforestation is occurring, you lose funding. I have a petition signed by over 31,000 American scientists showing that deforestation is a lie. You should read the op-eds from a certain self-taught British viscount on the subject; he explains what the "scientists" pushing Deforestation Theory are getting wrong.
Re:You might not be as right as you think (Score:5, Funny)
Can you explain the massive deforestation evident from satellite imagery in South America? Huge swaths of land that used to be rainforest are now used for grazing cattle and soybean/palm oil farms.
The satellite deforestation record doesn't completely match up with the surface deforestation record, so both of them are suspect. Plus, ten years ago, a scientist made an error on a non-peer-reviewed graph that was later used as the cover of a report on deforestation.