Explore Our Planet

Quite a lot of AJAX desktops popped up since Web2.0. NetVibes is most flexible, has a mini API and accepts external moduls. First attempts of integrating ExploreOuPla.net as iframe failed, the full screen interface is not optimized for small windows.

But having a deeper look into the documentation I found netvibes runs a nearly full abstraction layer and started implementing a subset of the OGC WMS specification to have a nice daily satellite photo viewer at the end.

At first time loading the modul does not knows what to show. It should geolocate the user via ip address or fall back to Paris, France. Geonames runs a webservice with the Maxmind GeoLite City dataset and achieves 97% accuracy for countries.

AJAX can not transport browser’s ip address because the netvibes proxy has its own. Dynamic Javascript is needed but Netvibes evaluates only static javascript without a scr attribute. So now the modul creates a dynamic Javascript using DOM during load.

You may give the modul its own tab with one column only and enjoy bigger photos.

Or you load the modul several times in a multi column layout to watch more different places.

Three maps are available: Daily Terra, Daily Aqua and cloud free Modis Blue Marble as reference. All are fetched from the NASA OnEarth WMS server. At any time you can change to the EOP full screen interface by clicking on the location link.

Depending on your timezone and choosed area the daily maps are not older than 48 hours. Normally they get updated at 10AM GMT. Sometimes access to server is restricted due to overload.

Have fun, check out example netvibes tab or add the module to your desktop.

As one of the UK’s leading relief and development agencies Tearfund tackles the causes and effects of poverty.

Recent report with a foreword from Sir John Houghton highlights two key points:

The Mexican government issued a hurricane watch along the Baja California peninsula from Cabo San Lucas on the southern tip northward to Agua Blanca and across to La Paz on the east coast. Picture taken by Daily Terra, 2006-10-22.

Published in the newstatesman.com today, this cover story from Mark Lynas promotes rationing per capita as an adequate answer to the hard facts we are facing.

You can’t bargain with the planet because it doesn’t care whether or not targets are ‘politically acceptable’. So unless we secure a deal determining how much carbon each nation and each person can emit, we simply will not survive. … (more…)

Tony Blair, British prime minister, and Jan Peter Balkenende, his Dutch counterpart urge in a joint letter ahead of an EU summit in Finland on Friday:

… The science of climate change has never been clearer. Without further action, scientists now estimate we may be heading for temperature rises of at least 3-4C above pre-industrial levels.

We have a window of only 10-15 years to take the steps we need to avoid crossing catastrophic tipping points.

These would have serious consequences for our economie growth prospects, the safety of our people and the supply of resources, most notably energy. So we must act quickly. …

Full letter (PDF)

Founded in 1999, Blacksmith Institute’s vision is a “clean planet for our children”.

The institute works in highly polluted locations in the developing world with the intent of mitigating human health risks from pollution.

The web site provides a database of polluted places and this is the 2006 excerpt with the ten most polluted places.

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At first sight nuclear power plants do not emit carbon dioxide during operation and thus provide a simple solution to avoid Global Warming.

To see no possibilities for nuclear accidents and disasters in next 20,000 years and being unsure about foreseeable Climate Change in next 100 years is a strange position. However, security issues like final storage are not solved and you may decide what an acceptable distance to next operating nuclear power plant is for yourself.

From now ExploreOurPLa.net has a nuclear power plants (NPP) extension. Around 680 NPPS are displayed on the map and popup windows provide information about connection, capacity and operator. At maximum 100 NPP icons are visible, if you miss any - zoom in.

The data comes from public services in the Internet. I like to say thanks to Mr. Ernst [die letzte seite] who started a similar project, gave me the initial idea and final motivation to complete the task.

If anybody could point me to places of final disposal or routes of nuclear transports the extension will appreciate an update.

More Info:
Nuclear Training Center, International Nuclear Safety Center (INSC), Virtual Nuclear Tourist, International Atomic Energy Agency

Using nine different climate models a research team focussed not the averages, but the extremes. Lead author Claudia Tebaldi and colleagues computed 10 different indices of climate extremes, with 5 related to temperature and 5 to moisture. (more…)

The greater Tokyo area counts a population of more than 35mill inhabitants and is Planet’s largest metropolitan area. Photo taken by Daily Terra, 2006-10-19. Do you see the ice cap of Mount Fuji?
Info: Effect of Sea-level Rise on Japan

Nine expeditions during the International Polar Year 2007-2009 are awaiting your application. If you are between 14 and 19 and enrolled in high school this is a great opportunity to visit the ends of our earth. Students from any country in the world are invited to share this incredible experience. However, if you do not find a sponsor, the web site is worth a visit. (more…)