Google Earth files

This page is a collection of my experiments with Google Earth as a tool for highlighting and visualizing environmental issues.
KML files
Programs
Personal
 




(2008-04) - updated 2010-05

Black Tides: The Worst Oil Spills in History

This KML shows information about the 50 worst oil spills, from tanker accidents and drilling operations, as well as a number of other notable spills. Did you know that some of the biggest oil spills in history were actually intentional?

Data Sources:
This page has full list of all the spills with references.

Tools used: PHP & MySQL (2008 version used Google Spreadsheet Mapper and EarthPlot)

Google Earth Outreach Showcase

Open Google Earth file
Preview in the Google Earth Plugin
(2009-12)

The CO2 Bubble...

This KML attempts to give a sense of scale to our CO2 emissions. It illustrates the total volume of CO2 emitted by man since the Industrial Revolution, as well as emission growth through the last two centuries. The KML also shows, next to the Eiffel Tower, an enormous pyramid of coal corresponding to the total amount burned by mankind throughout history.

Data Sources:
Please see this page for a full list of sources.

Tools used: PHP & MySQL (XAMPP), Google Sketchup


Open Google Earth file
Preview in the Google Earth Plugin
(2009-03)

Kmlfactbook.org

Kmlfactbook.org is a web application that allows you to create Google Earth visualizations similar to the Disappearing Forests KML file below from your own custon data. Country level data can be uploaded in CSV format to create 3D prism visualizations, or more traditional 2D choropleth maps and pie charts. The output KML files can either be downloaded to be viewed in the Google Earth application, or be previewed in Google Maps or the new Google Earth browser plugin on the site.

About the site: www.kmlfactbook.org/about


Visit the site
(2009-02)

All the Water in the World...

This KML shows the total volume of all water on earth, as if collected into a single sphere. The smaller spheres illustrate the limited fresh water resources available on the planet. The KML also shows the volume of water that would be needed to rise global sea level by 1 meter, something that could displace tens of millions of people over the next hundred years if CO2 emissions are not curbed.

Data Sources:
The 2nd UN World Water Development Report: 'Water, a shared responsibility'
NASA Earth Observatory, James Hansen et al. 2007, NSIDC, IPCC

Tools used: PHP and Google Sketchup
Inspiration: Water & Atmosphere illustration by Adam Nieman


Open Google Earth file
Preview in the Google Earth Plugin
(2009-01)

Sumatran Forest: Mapping Deforestation

This KML is a project by my friend David Gaveau to present deforestation data for the island of Sumatra in Google Earth. The data is the outcome of 6 years of research in Indonesia for the Wildlife Conservation Society and the kml shows deforestation data from 1990 until 2000 as well as protected area information and illegal road networks. The island is still home to small populations of tiger, orangutan, rhinos and elephants, but lost some 5,000 square kilometers of rainforest per year during the 1990s - part of the reason Indonesia has become the world's 3rd biggest carbon dioxide emitter.
(I've provided some technical help for realizing this project in KML)

Visit sumatranforest.org to learn more:
Sumatran Forest

Open Google Earth file
Preview in the Google Earth Plugin
(2008-07)

Flooding Borneo's rainforest: Sarawak's confidential dam plans 2008-2020

This KML file shows information from a confidential Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) document leaked and published by the Bruno Manser Fund. It highlights the plans for a number of very large hydroelectric projects set to flood vast areas of rainforest and displace thousands of indigenous people, including Penan, Kelabit and Kenyah. One of the projects will even submerge part of a UNESCO World Heritage site!
Tools used: Google Spreadsheet Mapper

The leaked document can be downloaded from:
Bruno Manser Fund
Survival International

Open Google Earth file
Preview in the Google Earth Plugin
(2008-06)

Disappearing Forests of the World..

This KML shows deforestation data from a number of sources for different countries, including a live ticker for each country.
The world has lost close to half of its forests already today, and the continued high pace of deforestation contributes greatly to climate change and the loss of biodiversity.
Sources:
World Resources Institute (WRI): The Last Frontier Forests: Ecosystems and Economies on the Edge (1997)
Greenpeace: The Worlds Last Intact Forest Landscapes (2006)
United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization: Global Forest Resources Assessment 2005
Tools used: PHP(+Ming for flash counter) & MySQL: XAMPP, World Borders Dataset (+chartAPI-icon idea): thematicmapping.org

(mentioned here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here)

Google Earth Outreach Showcase

Open Google Earth file
Preview in the Google Earth Plugin

EDGE of Existance: Mammals

This KML shows 100 of the worlds most Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) mammal species. It was created for the Zoological Society of London's EDGE of Existence programme.
Open the KML file to learn more about the Yangtze River dolphin, Cuban solenodon, Aye-aye and other endangered animals.
Tools used: Google Spreadsheet Mapper

ZSL: EDGE of Existence homepage
Google Earth Outreach Showcase
Google Earth Outreach Case Study
Google Lat Long Blog entry

Open Google Earth file
Preview in the Google Earth Plugin

EDGE of Existance: Amphibians

This KML shows 100 of the worlds most Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) amphibian species. It was created for the Zoological Society of London's EDGE of Existence programme.
Open the KML file to learn more about the 1.8 meter Chinese Giant Salamander, the cave dwelling Olm and other endangered animals.
Tools used: Google Spreadsheet Mapper

ZSL: EDGE of Existence homepage
Google Earth Outreach Showcase


Open Google Earth file
Preview in the Google Earth Plugin

Survival International: Tribes

This KML shows information from Survival International about 33 indigenous tribes on five continents.
Survival is an organisation that works to support tribal peoples worldwide. The tribes in the KML are under threat from ranchers, loggers and miners invading and stealing their land. Many of the tribes have been decimated from previous massacres and forced relocations. Some of them still reject all contact with outsiders.
Tools used: Google Spreadsheet Mapper

Survival International homepage


Open Google Earth file
(not updated for GE 5.0)

Biodiversity Hotspots

This KML shows information about the earths 34 Biodiversity Hotspots, as defined by Conservation International.
These are the most important areas for conservation, with very large numbers of endemic species. Each of the hotspots has lost more than 70% of its original forest (some more than 95%) and the remaining habitat for all of the hotspots combined covers only 2% of the planet's surface. Yet over 50% of the worlds's plant species and 42% of the land animals exist nowhere else.
Tools used: Google Spreadsheet Mapper

Biodiversity Hotspots homepage
Conservation International homepage

Open Google Earth file
Preview in the Google Earth Plugin

All the above files

Download this network link KML to load all the above files in Google Earth.
(Drag the link into My Places in Google Earth to automatically receive any new files and updates from this page in the future.)

Open Google Earth file
 







 Programs

   Google Code Open Source Project:
   http://code.google.com/p/googleearth-autohotkey/


Google Earth Tiler

A small program for creating high-resolution image overlays for Google Earth. Input is a large image file and coordinates for where it should be located on the ground. Output is a hierarchy of small image tiles of increasing resolution, and a KML file to load only the images required based on the current Google Earth viewpoint. This results in higher performance and lower bandwidth usage since only a small part of the ground overlay image has to be downloaded and displayed at any time.
(source code: Google Code project)

Download: GoogleEarthTiler.exe
(version 1.04)
The program requires: ImageMagick

Google Earth Position

A small tool for reading/modifying the current position in Google Earth and copy to the clipboard. Useful for editing KML files, and for pasting coordinates into spreadsheets like the Google Spreadsheet Mapper.
(source code: Google Code project)

Download: GoogleEarthPosition.exe
(version 1.14)

LatLong Conversion

A small tool for converting between different format coordinates. Might be useful for editing KML files.
(source code: Google Code project)

Download: LatLongConversion.exe
(version 1.09)

Google Earth PhotoTag

A small program for adding Exif GPS data to JPEG files and reading coordinates from the Google Earth client.
With the Auto-Mode enabled any new file drag-and-dropped onto the PhotoTag window will automatically be tagged with the current coordinates from the Google Earth client.
Options to read/write Exif GPS data can be added to the windows right-click menu for JPEG files from the PhotoTag About: dialog.
(source code: Google Code project)

Download: GoogleEarthPhotoTag.exe
(version 1.24)
The program requires: Exiv2.exe

Extract coordinates from KML files

Two small XSL files for extracting Lat, Long, and LookAt parameters from placemarks in a KML file. Handy for re-importing values into a spreadsheet after editing in Google Earth.
To use edit the <kml> tag and add a <?xml-stylesheet> tag to your KML file, then view it in a browser (see instructions inside the XSL file).

Download: getpos.xsl (extract coordinates as a HTML table)
Download: getpos_csv.xsl (extract coordinates in CSV format)
 







 Personal

Round The World Trip 2005 Photos

Travel photos from 12 months spent on the road; Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, New Zealand, Fiji, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysian Borneo, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand.


Warning: Thumbnail photo-index pages may be quite slow to load in Google Earth 4.3


Open Google Earth file

Preview in the Google Earth Plugin

Sketchup 3D models

My experiments with Google's SketchUp 3D modeling program. The first model is the Irish National Botanic Gardens Palm House.

Google 3D Warehouse link


Open Google Earth file
David Tryse homepage
Contact:davidtryse@gmail.com