UNHCR Internally Displaced Persons, Somalia

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees - UPDATE!

http://www.unhcr.org

In response to the 2006 drought in Somalia, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) began the Population Movement Tracking (PMT) to monitor IDP's, or Internally Displaced Persons. This KML presents an animated account of population movement enabling you to better understand the factors affecting movement, whether through flooding, insecurity/violence or other factors. To view the animation, press the "play" button on the right hand side of the time line bar which can be found at the top of the image viewer.

UPDATE: The UNHCR have made some improvements to their KML. This updated content comprises of; more information in the placemark balloons, personalized icons showing size of population movement, and the integration of "network links", allowing the UNHCR to update their content dynamically without you, the user having to do anything.

http://earth.google.com/gallery/images/small/unhcr_idps_sm.jpg

http://earth.google.com/gallery/images/large/unhcr_idps_lg.jpg

Open in Google Earth

Reuters AlertNet

Reuters AlertNet

http://www.alertnet.org/thefacts/satelliteimages/121750206517.htm

This KML produced by Reuters AlertNet enables you to keep up to date with the latest humanitarian crisis around the world. These disasters may be caused by a variety of influences, whether that be conflict, natural disasters or food shortages. By showing just where these situations are occuring, the user can feel a greater relationship to the place which, hopefully provides a better understanding of what is taking place at that location and how it fits in to the rest of the world.

Reuters AlertNet have also used "Network Links" so that the file can be updated without you, the user needing to do anything. So any new information added by Reuters AlertNet is instantly viewable by you.

http://earth.google.com/gallery/images/small/reuters_alertnet_sm.jpg

http://earth.google.com/gallery/images/large/reuters_alertnet_lg.jpg

Open in Google Earth

Google Lunar X PRIZE

X PRIZE Foundation

http://www.googlelunarxprize.org

The Google Lunar X PRIZE is a $30 million international competition to safely land a robot on the surface of the Moon, travel 500 meters over the lunar surface, and send images and data back to the Earth. This KML explores the Teams, Foundations, and Partners helping to make this extraordinary feat of engineering and economics possible.

http://earth.google.com/gallery/images/small/x_prize_sm.jpg

http://earth.google.com/gallery/images/large/x_prize_lg.jpg

Open in Google Earth

A Googol of Heat Beneath Our Feet

Google.org

http://www.google.org/egs/

The energy from the heat beneath the earth's surface is essentially an unlimited resource. What if it could be developed to help solve our energy challenges and fight global warming? Enhanced Geothermal Systems, or EGS, attempts to do just that. EGS produces heat and electricity by harnessing the energy from hot rock deep below the earth's surface, expanding the potential of traditional geothermal energy by orders of magnitude. EGS is a big challenge, but with the potential to power the world many times over, it demands our immediate attention. At Google we've launched an effort to advance EGS through R&D, investment, policy and information.

http://earth.google.com/gallery/images/small/geotherman_energy_sm.jpg

http://earth.google.com/gallery/images/large/geotherman_energy_lg.jpg

Open in Google Earth 4.3