Online maps and GPS systems have revolutionized how we travel and get from point A to point B. Google Maps has impacted more than just driving directions with its features, becoming a source of both convenience and controversy across the globe.

The usefulness of this service has been tested in a number of ways. Recently, Google Maps was used to track the wildfires that ravaged Southern California. A local Chicago news station used the Google service to create a map of reported murders during the summer season. In October of this year, walking directions were also added and can be compared to the driving directions. Users of social networking group Facebook, can use a Google Maps related application to create maps of their friends and contacts. The list of current uses goes on and on.

However, not all of the Google Maps features have been openly heralded for their utility. In particular, the Street View option, which displays a still, 360 degree image view of a specified point on the map has received a lot of criticism, especially by critics who say the images violate personal privacy. Google obtains these images through cameras that are driven on public streets and claims to have taken privacy concerns into consideration when designing Street View. However, when the camera is rolling, whatever is happening at that moment on the street is captured – and in some cases, those moments have been less than flattering or can pose a security threat. In response, Google has taken a blurring approach to help remove security sensitive or personally identifying photos to address some of these concerns. Despite the usefulness of a three-dimensional display that can help prevent getting lost when en route to an unfamiliar destination, Google Maps still receives a great deal of scrutiny due to Street View. As Google continues to increase the number of cities on Google Maps with Street View, there are many alternative online maps and driving direction services available for those who are boycotting Google due to privacy concerns.

Although Google is often at the forefront of the debate over these concerns, the issues extend further than just Google Maps. As some critics note, satellite imagery of private residences has been online and available to the public through Google Earth long before the Street View service began. Critics contend that the lack of privacy is nothing new. Of course, Google isn’t the only company or organization monitoring the Earth via Satellite. NASA and other aerospace companies also have the power to peek into your backyard via satellite. It will be interesting to see how these privacy concerns can be addressed without compromising the benefits received from these services.

The Convenience and Controversy of Google Maps is a post from: The Map Seeker

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When you hear the word “endangered” animals like the Giant Panda or the Siberian Tiger are typically the first thing to come to mind. It’s really unfortunate that animals are not the only endangered things on our planet. Unique varieties of plants, insects, sea creatures, and even land have become scarce across the globe. We can look to maps to see how far we have progressed, and to learn how much further we have to improve.

In 1988, National Geographic published an Endangered Earth map. It was the first of its kind to visually exhibit the impact of human growth and industrialization in the grand presentation of a wall map. Not only did it list species extinctions, but the map also showed what areas across the globe were suffering from pollution problems, over population and dangerous Ozone levels.

In 1997, the latest satellite technology enabled National Geographic to come up with a new Endangered Earth Satellite Map. Sadly, the number of red-dots indicating environmentally troubled spots on the globe increased from the previous 1988 version. The imagery of the map overall is more detailed, but the information garnered from it is perhaps the most significant.
Just by taking in both maps overall, climate change and global warming can be seen across the globe. North America and much of Europe and Asia appear to be much drier and less green. The map even discusses some of the changes, like the change in climate, in the paragraphs that surround the world map.

Nowadays, digital maps have become another way to see the areas suffering from extinction across the globe. One of the most interesting extinction maps out there is a map of disappearing languages. Even better is the fact that the map also leads you to a whole movement called the Enduring Voices Project, which is trying to do something to revitalize the languages that are dying out.
By combining the power of the Internet with the power of maps, maybe we finally have the tools to make positive change to our world.

See Endangered Wildlife on a Satellite Map is a post from: The Map Seeker

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