Truly, Google Earth provides the images to the public, but it is the decision of the public to take the images and use them for what they will. Any form of technology utilized by the public is also used by terrorists, from cell phones to Skype and social networking. Having to ban the use of these technologies because they proliferate terrorism is not reason enough to prevent the rest of a country or the world (Schneier, 2009, para. 2-5). Those that want to perform evil will perform evil, whether Google Earth is around or not.

As summed up by Weinberger (2008), “Have the images created a security risk? The answer, according to a number of experts, is yes, but there’s not much that can be done about it.” Of course, we are only talking about a minority of users that take Google Earth and use it for their nefarious purposes, but this does not define the majority of the population. The era of transparency brought about by Google Earth is not detrimental, and now we can see more of the world, and still feel safe because of the technology.

For more information regarding privacy and Google Earth and its connection to government security, check out the following sources:

Blakely, R. (2008, December 9). Google Earth accused of aiding terrorists. Times Online Retrieved from http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article5311241.ece

Eisler, P. (2008, November 7). Google Earth Helps Yet Worries Government. USA Today. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/surveillance/2008-11-06-googleearth_N.htm

Schneier, B. (2009, January 9). Terrorists may use Google earth, but fear is no reason to ban it. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/jan/29/read-me-first-google-earth

Swartz, N. (2006). Google Earth Scares Governments. Information Management Journal 40(2), 20.

Weinberger, S. (2008). Can you spot the Chinese nuclear sub? Discover 29(8), 30. Retrieved from http://discovermagazine.com/2008/aug/21-can-you-spot-the-chinese-nuclear-sub

Humanitarianism

There are two forms of humanitarianism: short-term and long-term.

In short term humanitarian intervention involves disaster response.  Google Earth has been used to quickly gather and display images of sites damaged by natural disasters within a couple of days.  Some prominent examples include Hurricane Katrina and Haiti.  Google Earth has, without question, been very effective with short term intervention.

However, with long-term intervention, whether Google Earth is effective does not have a clear answer.  Overall, Google Earth’s ability to display every location in the world, plus its ability to incorporate information layers into the interface, has been applied for humanitarian causes.  One prominent example is Crisis in Darfur formed by the United States Holocaust Museum.  This information layer integrates information of destroyed villages and stories of victims and survivors with regions in Darfur.  Although there has been great public response, there are issues concerning whether such information layers are indeed having an impact on the political situation.  For example, violence and genocide in Darfur still occurs despite the existence of Crisis in Darfur.

Education

Because of Google Earth is easy to use, is capable of representing 3D imagery, and is open for people to create information layers, Google Earth is a powerful tool for education (Tuttle, Anderson, & Huff, 2008, p. 1488).  There are multiple KMLs that discuss varying effects of climate change and future changes in the Earth due to climate change.  In addition to science, there are also KMLs for literature education.  With Google Lit Trips, you can download a KML that keeps track of the setting and setting changes that occur throughout a particular novel.  The possibilities are endless.  Miscellaneous ones are seen in exhibits.  The Marian Koshland Science Museum of the National Academy of Sciences has an exhibit that shows nighttime lights around the world (Tuttle et. al, 2008, p. 1490).

Sites/Sources

Humanitarianism

http://earth.google.com/outreach/cs_darfur.html (Article about Crisis in Darfur)

http://www.eyesondarfur.org/ (Website about Eyes on Darfur by Amnesty International)

http://www.gearthblog.com/blog/archives/2010/01/imagery_layer_for_haiti_earthquake.html (Information about Haiti Earthquake, shows some imagery)

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=15395&oldid=13076 (Website to download KML showing imagery)

Education

Tuttle, B. T., Anderson, S., and Huff, R. (2008).  Virtual globes: An Overview of their history, uses, and    future challenges.  Geography Compass 2(5), 1478-1505.

http://sitescontent.google.com/google-earth-for-educators/classroom-resources/lesson-plan-library/impact-of-climate-change (multiple KMLs that provide different information about climate change)

http://www.googlelittrips.com/GoogleLit/Home.html (website providing Lit Trips for different novels).

A neat tool provided on Google Earth when downloaded is the Google Earth Flight Simulator.  As you know, Google Earth combines numerous images and satellite imagery together.  However with the Flight Simulator, you are virtually given a new way to view the imagery, as though you were flying an airplane.  The controls are very much like that of a plane, and it takes a lot of practice to really understand it.  The basic controls: Left arrow, tilts the plane left; Right arrow, tilts the plane right; Up arrow: Tilts plane down; and Down arrow: Tilts plane up.  Additionally, the flight simulator provides your current altitude to give you an idea of the scale at which you are viewing these compiled images.  It takes a lot of practice to stay afloat for several minutes.  After making that leap, you can then proceed to learn how to take off from an airbase, and even trickier, learn to dismount.  It takes practice to really understand the intricate controls.  Now you can have a slight idea of the training that pilots undergo.  Try it out now!

Geocaching

There is another activity available that is available outside of Google Earth.  This activity is geocaching, which is a “high-tech treasure hunt” played with GPS devices (Groundspeak Inc., 2010)  By traveling around the world, these “treasure hunters” document and share their experiences with others.  There are currently over one million ‘geocaches’ available on the main website for geocaching, http://www.geocaching.com.  With Google Earth, there is a KML that displays up to five hundred geocaches on the virtual globe, the particular geocaches varying based on the scale at which you are viewing the imagery.  This allows people to view the general location of the geocaches.

Sources

Flight Simulator

http://earth.google.com/intl/en/userguide/v4/flightsim/index.html (the entire control scheme, including the more detailed controls).

Geocaching

http://www.geocaching.com (the official  website for geocaching)

http://www.geocaching.com/about/google.aspx (provides instructions for how to use the Geocaching KML on Google Earth)

Google Earth provides many layers pre-downloaded in its software, including Weather, 3D Buildings, and many more provided in the Earth Gallery button on the Google Earth Home Page. And aside from the layers available in Google Earth, there are multiple downloadable KML files from the internet that reach across all disciplines, from meteorology to environmental science, and even literature!

While these layers are an aesthetically pleasing manner to present data, layers are also extremely user-friendly. Once a layer is downloaded and processed by Google Earth, users have a multitude of options. Some layers provide geographical data that have tags which can be clicked to elicit more data. Some layers include polygons of data that cover a geographic area. Other layers may include time lapses of data, valuable for historical presentations. A layer is only limited by the extent of the KML file, and from there, the layer can “cover” what you want.

http://code.google.com/apis/kml/documentation/kml_tut.html

http://earth.google.com/userguide/v5/ug_layers.html

Google Sky, like Google Earth, consists of a basemap and related layers. The program displays a mosaic of images retrieved from a combination of surveys including the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, the Digital Sky Survey Consortium, NASA, and ESA’s Hubble Space Telescope. Users are able to view planets, galaxies, stars, nebulae, constellations, and spectacular images from the Hubble Space Telescope. In addition, users are able to search particular planets, stars, or galaxies in the search box. Google Sky then flies the user through the universe to their desired destination. Podcasts, articles, and photographs are often available regarding the searched object (Google Inc, 2010).

For more information on Google Sky go to: http://www.google.com/earth/explore/showcase/sky.html

Google Moon

Google joined with NASA Ames Research Center to display a new feature of Google Earth: Google Moon. This displays a collection of lunar maps and charts, which depict detailed images of the moon and mark particular and important landmarks. Google Moon displays altitude (differentiated by varying colors), photographs, and charts involving geologic and topographic information. It also has tagged landmarks, which provide stories, quotes, images, and videos pertaining to different Apollo missions, which relate the specific flagged position on the moon (Google Inc. 2010).

For more information on Google Moon go to: http://www.google.com/earth/explore/showcase/moon.html

Google Mars

Just as users are able to explore the Earth and the Moon, so can they explore the planet Mars. Google teamed up with NASA researchers at Arizona State University to create maps of Mars, which can be explored by the public. Users of Google Mars are able to take interactive tours of Mars, follow rover vehicles trek across Mars and view their 360-degree panoramas, and search for famous landmarks (Google Inc., 2010).

For more information on Google Mars go to: http://www.google.com/earth/explore/showcase/mars.html

• Keyhole Markup Language (KML) – format for files used to display geographical information in virtual globes such as Google Earth
• Layer – spatial data involving a particular type of information which is overlain onto the virtual globe
• Web 3.0 – the next generation of the World Wide Web, which involves the semantic tagging of information
• Web Mash-ups – programs that present information from unrelated sources creating a new type of application
• Geo-tagging – adding geographic information to different types of information such as photographs, videos, podcasts, or web pages

Using Coordinates

Google Earth users can use geographic coordinates involving latitude and longitude to locate the position of the identified point on the virtual globe. Google Earth allows for the coordinates to be input in three way:

1. Degrees, minutes, seconds (DMS)
2. Decimal degrees (DDD)
3. Degrees, minutes, with decimal seconds (DMM)

To learn more regarding the use of coordinates go to: http://earth.google.com/support/bin/static.py?hl=en&page=guide.cs&guide=22373&topic=23749&answer=148106

Marking locations

Users of Google Earth may use placemarks to mark any specific location, which appears as a pin. This marked position then appears in the My Places folder in the Places panel. This allows the user to quickly “fly” to the marked position by simply double clicking on the placemark in the My Places folder.

To learn more regarding placemarks go to: http://earth.google.com/support/bin/static.py?page=guide.cs&guide=22364&topic=22367&answer=148142

Michael Jones, the chief technologist for Google Earth, claims that Google Earth was created with the people in mind. He comments, “We thought it would be great if everyday people could use this spatial knowledge to make better decisions. … So we set out to build an Earth browser to help people better understand their planet” (Wagner, 2006). Jones’ goal, to make a map which will provide a greater comprehension and understanding of the world, is lauded by John Hanke, the head of the Earth and Maps sector of Google. Hanke calls Google Earth a “map of historical significance” and goes on to explain that, “It is going to be a map of the world that is more detailed than any map that’s ever been created” (The Economist, 2007).

Google Earth is not merely a type of search engine or route creator. It is an expansive database of knowledge that helps people to view the world and catch glimpses of far-off lands. The capability to view an all-encompassing, 3-D portrayal of the world through satellite imagery has not been available to the general public until now. So, do not be confused by the fact Google Earth is one of many programs stamped by the Google logo. This particular mask of Google called Google Earth is separate and stands alone in its class as an accessible, available for the general public, virtual globe.

For further research:

Google the search engine

Google Maps

Google Imagery

Google Videos

To read more about the intention of Michael Jones with Google Earth:

Wagner, M. (Interviewer) & Jones, M. (Interviewee). (2006). The View from Google
Earth [Interview transcript]. Retrieved from
http://www.gpsworld.com/gis/integration-and-standards/the-view-google-earth-
7434

To learn more about Google Earth and its uses, background, and applications:

The Economist.  (2007, September 6). The world on your desktop. The
Economist, 384(8545), 17-21.