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Documenting Humanitarian Crisis with Google Earth
posted by Satri
on Tuesday February 06, @10:55AM
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from the this-is-more-than-being-serious-with-toys dept.
from the this-is-more-than-being-serious-with-toys dept.
Ogle Earth links to a project documenting humanitarian crisis with Google Earth with all the professionalism required. From the site: "Since early 2006, SHR has been working with partner organizations to collect high-resolution satellite imagery and develop other data to document or understand human rights violations. A selection of this imagery (QuickBird and Ikonos) and other data is provided below as Google Earth layers. These layers were produced using the regionator code made available by Google." These crisis are covered: Chad and Darfur (Sudan), Lebanon and Israel, and Zimbabwe.
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Satellite Imagery Used to Spot Human Rights Abuses 2 comments
[+]
The Map Room links to a Kottke entry (with screenshots) about satellite imagery used to spot human rights abuses. From the American Association for the Advancement of Science article: "The images, analyzed by the AAAS staff, show two views of the settlement of Porta Farm, located just west of the Zimbabwean capital of Harare. The first, an archived image from June 2002, shows an intact settlement with more than 850 homes and other buildings; an estimated 6,000 to 10,000 people lived in Porta Farm at the time. The second photo, taken by satellite on 6 April this year, shows that the settlement has been leveled.
The pictures were released Wednesday 31 May as central evidence in a report compiled by the international secretariat of Amnesty International in London and Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), based in Harare. The report, “Shattered Lives: The Case of Porta Farm,” views the destruction of the settlement and the forced relocation of its residents as emblematic of a broad campaign by the government of President Robert Mugabe to repress political opposition."
New Google Earth Layers: Darfur and more 4 comments
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The Google Earth Blog details the newly available layers in Google Earth. From the blog: "Crisis in Darfur - This new layer is turned on by default now when you open Google Earth. [...] This layer does an amazing job at illustrating the crisis in the area showing satellite photos of destroyed villages, locations of refugee camps, photos of human rights abuses, and provides links to more information on the web. [...] Trimble Outdoors Trips [...] makers of GPS technology. It's focus is to provide information on outdoor hikes, GPS tracks, photos, videos, and other related information. [...] Skiing [...] layers showing Ski Resorts, Ski Lifts, and Gondolas under the Parks and Recreation layer." Ogle Earth has screenshots of the Darfur layer.
Amnesty International's "Eyes on Darfur" and New After War Beirut Imagery 1 comment
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Ogle Earth discuss the launch by Amnesty International of their Eyes on Darfur project, which uses satellite imagery as evidence. Here's the Eyes on Darfur website. OE shares this with us: "Every initiative on Darfur is a worthy initiative. I would love, however, for this weeks-old data from Darfur to be made available in an open, georeferenced formats, in time series and on a much wider scale, so that GIS volunteers really can monitor villages for change. I'd gladly "adopt" one of the 1,600 villages and monitor it, given the data. I also think Flash is not the best visualization tool for geospatial data [...]" OE also informs us Beirut imagery has been updated to reflect the situation after the 2006 Lebanon War.
Industry: Google Earth Outreach Announced and Microsoft Targets the 3D Warehouse 1 comment
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Several news items on the Google front. First, the Google Earth Blog introduces the new Google Earth Outreach, which are new global awareness layers. The GEB also share two changes in Google Earth layers and gallery. Meanwhile, Ogle Earth also shares links regarding Google Earth Outreach and discuss how France's Dassault Systemes and Microsoft are aiming at Google 3D warehouse.
From the Outreach post: "Today Google has announced a new initiative called Google Earth Outreach designed to help nonprofit organizations around the world leverage the power of Google Earth to illustrate and advocate for the important work that they do. [...] Google Earth Outreach enables any organization to quickly and easily get the resources it needs to create compelling stories through Google Earth layers. The program includes comprehensive online guides, video tutorials, and case studies about using Google Earth specifically targeted to the needs of nonprofit organizations."
Industry: Myanmar Human Rights Watch Using Satellite Imagery
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Ogle Earth discuss the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) use of satellite imagery to evaluate the human rights abuses in Myanmar (formerly Burma). From the AAAS news release: "Satellite image analysis then revealed physical evidence to corroborate reported instances of human rights violations at 25 of the 31 accurately mapped sites. Wherever possible, Bromley compared archival satellite images with newly acquired shots to examine sites before as well as after the reported military activity. In other cases, recent images revealed clear signs of destruction." Slashdot provides a discussion and complementary links on the same topic, in addition to an Internet blackout in Myanmar which is stalling citizen reporting. See also related stories below.
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Documenting Humanitarian Crisis with Google Earth
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Darfur Mashup and Mapcruncher Video Tutorial
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