by Amy Lupica (Our Daily Planet) In time for Earth Day, last week Google unveiled Google Earth Timelapse, allowing users to see zoomable videos documenting how the Earth has changed since 1984. Through the eyes of a satellite, users can view sobering and sometimes alarming trends of deforestation, sea-level rise, dried up seas, and urban sprawl. Developers hope that this program, a product of 37 years of documentation, can help people see and believe in climate change and fight back.
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Experts say this tool could help re-invigorate support for environmental causes, using visual storytelling to show people that the natural world is facing a pandemic all its own. More “proof” we need to adhere to the Paris Accord and conserve 30% of the planet by 2030.
What if you could take the entire planet, gather over 30 years of satellite data on it, and put it all together into a simple app that can even be used on your smartphone? Well… that’s exactly what Google recently unveiled. The new features for its Timelapse allow users to zoom in on any locations they choose, viewing more than three decades of imagery.
The world at our fingertips
It’s true that we now have the entire planet at our fingertips in more ways than one. Even some 20-30 years ago, most people would have had a hard time imagining this. The fact that you can use a common device most of us carry in our pockets and zoom in over any corner of the Earth and see how it evolved in the past few decades speaks a lot to how much technology and scientific observation have progressed.