Investigating Energy Use with Google My Maps and Google Earth

Investigating Energy Use with Google My Maps and Google Earth

Investigating Energy Use with Google My Maps and Google Earth
Investigating Energy Use with
Google My Maps and Google Earth
Dr. Carsten Braun
[email protected]
Geography and Regional Planning / Environmental Science
Westfield State College
Westfield, MA 01085
Topics for Today
1. Web Mapping Applications and Sites
2. Online Teaching Resources
3. ArcGIS Explorer
4. Google My Maps
5. Google Earth
A digital version of this file is available on my website:
http://www.wsc.ma.edu/garp/faculty/cb.html
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1) Web Mapping Sites and Applications
Here are several so-called Web Mapping Applications – websites where you can create dynamic and
interactive maps or where you can explore variables of interest in map form.
1.1) Worldmapper
URL: www.worldmapper.org
This has to be my favorite web mapping site! Worldmapper is a collection of world maps, where the
countries are re-sized on each map according to the subject of interest. Map categories of interest related
to energy are:
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Resources
Fuel
Pollution
Production
Transportation
Best of all: The data used for each
of the maps is included for
download as MS Excel files for
further analysis.
1.2) TerraServer-USA
URL: http://terraserver-usa.com/
TerraServer is great – very fast and easy access to topographic maps and aerial photographs anywhere in
the USA. The maps and photographs can be displayed in different sizes and downloaded as JPG files.
TerraServer is not as ‘fancy’ as Google Earth or Bing maps, but provides what you want without a flashy
interface.
1.3) bing Maps
URL: http://www.bing.com/maps/
Microsoft’s answer to Google Maps with stunning imagery, cool Bird’s eye view, and a 3D view option
(requires free browser plug-in). Bing also allows interactive, personal mapping and content, similar to
Google My Maps.
1.4) Historic Topographic Maps of New England and NY
URL: http://docs.unh.edu/nhtopos/nhtopos.htm
This is a great website hosted by UNH with a complete digital collection of historic topographic maps for
New England and New York. Westfield, for example, goes back to 1895!
1.5) The Vulcan Project
URL: http://www.purdue.edu/eas/carbon/vulcan/index.php
The Vulcan Project is a NASA/DOE funded effort under the North American Carbon Program (NACP) to
quantify North American fossil fuel carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions at space and time scales much finer
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than has been achieved in the past. The
purpose is to aid in quantification of the
North American carbon budget, to
support inverse estimation of carbon
sources and sinks, and to support the
demands posed by higher resolution
CO2 observations (in situ and remotely
sensed).
The detail and scope of the Vulcan CO2
inventory has also made it a valuable
tool for policymakers, demographers,
social scientists and the public at large
(now on Google Earth!).
Carbon emissions data are available as
MS Excel spreadsheets for further
statistical or GIS analysis.
CO2 Emissions flyover in Google Earth as YouTube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iu-s9IHPGmM
Google Earth Animation as Browser Plug-in:
http://www.purdue.edu/eas/carbon/vulcan/GEarth/index.html
• Faster: Download the actual Google Earth files
• Optional: Download the state and county data as Microsoft Excel files
1.6) Gapminder
URL: http://www.gapminder.org/
Gapminder is a non-profit
venture promoting sustainable
global development and
achievement of the United
Nations Millennium
Development Goals by
increased use and understanding
of statistics and other
information about social,
economic and environmental
development at local, national
and global levels.
Gapminder allows you to
visualize data for countries as
charts, maps, and timeanimations thereof.
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1.7) CARMA – Carbon Monitoring for Action
URL: http://carma.org/
At its core, Carbon Monitoring for Action (CARMA) is a massive database containing information on the
carbon emissions of over 50,000 power plants and 4,000 power companies worldwide. Power generation
accounts for 40% of all carbon emissions in the United States and about one-quarter of global emissions.
CARMA is the first global inventory of a major, emissions-producing sector of the economy.
The carbon data can be displayed as maps, tables, and downloaded for further analysis.
1.8) Ocean – Climate – Interactive
URL: http://cosee.umaine.edu/cfuser/index.cfm
Created by the Center for Ocean
Sciences Education Excellence
(COSEE-OS)
Pre-college educators face many
challenges when integrating marine
topics with other subject areas. They
find it difficult to fit in new topics
such as oceans because their time and
effort is focused on meeting learning
standards and district / state
assessments. Likewise, it is often
difficult to teach science using an
interdisciplinary approach. In most
cases, the result is a curriculum of
discrete topics that doesn't provide
students with a framework in which to
view the ‘big picture.’
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The Ocean – Climate – Interactive showcases fundamental science concepts which can be mapped within
a ‘big picture context.’ The primary mode of dissemination to broad audiences is the Ocean Climate
Interactive (OCI). This flash-based application allows users to explore concepts and their relationships
through a variety of assets - videos, images, news articles, and teaching resources - within a profile that
gives breadth and depth to the learning experience. The OCI, when used in conjunction with our Concept
Map Builder, constitutes part of COSEE-OS' suite of ocean-climate multimedia known as the Concept
Linked Integrated Media Builder (CLIMB).
The OCI was created from a series of concept maps developed by scientist-educator teams. After several
iterations, the overarching map was parsed into three distinct ‘views’ - the Earth-Sun System View, Earth
View, and Close-Up View - which showcase various concepts, each of which is linked to other concepts,
sub-concepts, and a multitude of assets. Educators can use the OCI in their classrooms as an easy-toaccess resource for engaging material; students can browse the concepts and their assets to learn more
about them in a way that invites further exploration.
2) Online Teaching Resources
2.1) The Energy Choices Board Game
URL: http://www.clarkson.edu/oep/teachers/energy_game.html
A board game has been
developed by students and
staff from Clarkson and St.
Lawrence Universities as part
of their NSF-Funded K-12
Project-Based Learning
Partnership Program. The
game is used to introduce the
concepts of energy use in our
lives and the very real impact
that personal choices can have
on our energy consumption,
energy bills and fuel supply.
The game begins as each
student selects cards that
define their mode of
transportation and home
design (see examples on reverse). The players roll dice and move around the board, landing on “choice”
or “situation” blocks and selecting cards that describe consumer choices and real life events that impact
their energy consumption and annual energy bills. As the players pass gasoline stations or energy bill
gates, they must pay annual expenses as defined by their original cards, with amounts altered by the
choices they’ve made along the way. Gasoline cards are collected to represent their total consumption.
Too many gas guzzling vehicles can result in total depletion of their gasoline supply – at which point
everyone must walk or ride the bus.
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The game provides some context for serious classroom discussions about our current energy situation.
Discussion points can include:
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How did the choices you made affect how much money you had at the end?
Which home system wound up with the most money at the end? Why?
Which car wound up with the most gas cards at the end? What do you know about this
type of car? (big, gas guzzler) How did having a lot of gas cards affect the owner’s
financial state?
What do you think the carbon tax you paid at the end of the game represents?
Why did gasoline and home energy prices increase throughout the game? Do you think
this will be an issue in your own lives?
Did any teams run out of gasoline cards? What does this represent? Which type of
transportation contributed most to the depletion of gasoline cards?
2.2) The Stabilization Wedges Game
UTL: http://cmi.princeton.edu/wedges/
The Stabilization Wedges Game is a team-based exercise that teaches players about the scale of the
greenhouse gas problem, plus technologies that already exist to dramatically reduce our carbon emissions
and get us off the path toward dramatic and damaging climate change.
Players pick eight carbon-cutting strategies to construct a carbon mitigation portfolio, filling in the eight
wedges of the stabilization triangle. The game has been used with players from variety of groups, from
university researchers to industry professionals to high school students, and we'd like to help you play
with your class or organization:
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A Teachers' Guide oriented toward upper-level high school instructors is available, with
student game materials in 8.5" x 11" format and a lesson plan.
A large-format game board (33" x 26") with wedge pieces is also available.
Please contact us if you need further information or help carrying out your lesson or event. If you use the
Stabilization Wedges game, we would like to hear about your experience and would appreciate receiving
materials you've developed and would like to share with the community. Please e-mail us, and we will
post the materials
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2.3) BP Educational Resources
URL: http://www.bp.com/retailhomepage.do?categoryId=8040&contentId=7037096
BP Education Service (BPES) provides innovative curriculum-linked teaching resources for primary and
secondary schools and college. This website requires free registration.
2.4) Renewables are Ready!
URL: http://www.ucsusa.org/assets/documents/clean_energy/renewablesready_fullreport.pdf
This is an excellent guide to teaching renewable energy in junior and
senior high school classrooms published by the Union of Concerned
Scientists.
It contains a set of classroom activities with detailed instructions, an
expanded list of project suggestions, ideas for student-led education and
action campaigns, and a bibliography of resources for further
investigation. We have tried to choose activities that are multidisciplinary,
investigatory, and fun. Most of these projects emphasize group work and
cooperative learning. The activities can be taught independently or as a
unit. In either case, we suggest that you use them in the context of a
comprehensive unit on energy and energy-related environmental issues.
Several good resources on energy and the environment are listed in the
bibliography.
Our objectives in this guide are to help you teach students:
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the difference between renewable and nonrenewable energy sources
to identify and distinguish between different forms of renewable energy
to understand the pros and cons of different renewable energy sources
to identify a wide variety of applications for renewable energy
the basic scientific and technical principles behind large-scale applications of renewable
energy
to identify some political, social, and economic incentives that would accelerate the
implementation of renewable energy in the United States
how to take actions that will accelerate the development of renewables
2.5) Various Other Websites
These four website are focused on college-level education.
On the Cutting Edge: http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/index.html
This contains great resources for teaching Geosciences, including Energy Topics.
Teaching about Energy in Geoscience Courses
http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/energy/index.html
Here you find a collection of visualizations (videos, animations, and graphics) about a wide range of
energy types and uses.
Pedagogy in Action: http://serc.carleton.edu/sp/library/pedagogies.html
A portal for educators and teaching methods.
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Teach the Earth Portal: http://serc.carleton.edu/teachearth/index.html
Teach the Earth is a portal into the rich geoscience education content available through dozens of
independent project websites. The Teach the Earth portal is a handful of web pages which can help guide
you through this diverse array of sites. It includes a search interface spanning all the projects, and a set of
site guides which highlight key resources within these project websites
3) ArcGIS Explorer
URL: http://www.esri.com/software/arcgis/explorer/index.html
ArcGIS Explorer is a free, downloadable GIS
viewer that gives you an easy way to explore,
visualize, and share GIS information. It is, in
essence, ESRI’s response to Google Earth.
The latest release of ArcGIS Explorer has
many new features that make it useful for
providing wider access to your GIS data and
capabilities, and for presenting information in
a geographic context.
ArcGIS Explorer may of interest to share
maps created in ArcGIS with other people and
is compatible with Google KML/KMZ files.
4) Google My Maps
URL: http://maps.google.com/maps and click on: My Maps
= The interactive side of Google Maps
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Create your own content (= your own personal maps), complete with imbedded
photographs and YouTube videos.
Browse and use the interactive content created by others.
Perform some basic quantitative analysis.
Share your maps and content with others.
Google My Maps requires a free Google Account
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This YouTube video is great – the author shows you
how to make a custom map of a walking tour around
San Francisco.
Just be aware that she uses a slightly older version of
Google My Maps, so the toolbar looks slightly different.
She also shows you how to link pictures and YouTube
videos to your own map.
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TftFnot5uXw
4.1) Other useful resources:
Google Maps Support Center:
http://maps.google.com/support/
Great Tutorials:
http://earth.google.com/outreach/tutorials.html
Google Street View:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0y-q-pI2pQ
YouTube Playlist for Google Maps (great resource)
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=98DA918472BB3131
4.2) Using Content Created by Others in Google My Maps
Google My Maps contains 1,000s of tools and custom maps that you can add to your own Google My
Maps. Most of these are commercial (e.g. The Weather Channel), funny, silly, or weird. But, there are
definitely very useful tools available as well. Here is a step-by-step sequence of how to add this custom
content to your Google My Maps.
1. Go to Google Maps (www.google.com and click on Maps)
2. Click on My Maps.
3. Sign into your Google Account.
Now the left side of the browser windows changes and gives you two new options:
Create new map
Browse the directory
Browse the directory gives you access to 1,000s of custom maps, tools, and content that
you can use.
4. Click on Browse the directory and select the tools, content, and custom maps that you want add
by clicking on Add it to Maps. I find these tools interesting and useful:
Area and Distance Calculator
Long Distance Measure
Altitude Resolving Tool
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Sea Level Rise
Earth at Night
World Population Density
World Energy Consumption
Alaska Field Trip
The Weather Channel Interactive
5. Click on Back to Google Maps to explore what you have added.
5) Google Earth
URL: http://earth.google.com/
Google Earth is a virtual globe that was originally called EarthViewer 3D, and was created by Keyhole,
Inc, a company acquired by Google in 2004. It maps the Earth by the superimposition of images obtained
from satellite imagery and aerial photography. Google Earth allows users to search for addresses for some
countries, enter coordinates, or simply use the mouse to browse to a location
Many people use Google Earth to map their own data. Google Earth supports managing threedimensional Geospatial data through the Keyhole Markup Language (KML).
5.1) Google Earth Resources
Tutorial Center
URL: http://earth.google.com/outreach/tutorials.html
This website provides video tutorials, text tutorials, and
other tools and resources for Google Earth ands Google
Maps.
The tutorials are sorted by the level of expertise
(beginner, intermediate, and advanced). The tools and
resources provide tools created by Google and ThirdParties. There is also a compilation of helpful articles
and books.
Google Earth Help
URL: http://earth.google.com/support/
Google Earth Help Videos on YouTube
URL: http://www.youtube.com/user/GoogleEarthVideoHelp
YouTube Playlists for Google Earth Help
URL: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=43658A12E05E1B84
URL: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=CC063AAD3D9B29B8
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Useful Books
David A. Crowder, Google Earth For Dummies, 360 pages, ISBN-13: 978-0470095287
Aidan Chopra, Google SketchUp 7 For Dummies, 456 pages, ISBN-13: 978-0470277393
5.2) Google Earth and GPS Data
One of the frustrations with Google Earth is that it can be complicated to upload GPS data (way points,
tracks, etc.) into Google Earth. There are many ways to do that, but not a simple and convenient one.
Plan A
Purchase Google Earth Pro ($400)
URL: http://www.google.com/enterprise/earthmaps/earth_pro.html
7-day free trial
Plan B
Use Third-Party Tools, for example GPS Babel
URL: http://earth.google.com/outreach/tutorials.html#tab2
Plan C
Some GPS receiver software (e.g. Garmin MapSource)
allows you go view your GPS data in Google Earth.
Plan D
Use ArcGIS, but that is not really an option for most people.
5.3) Google Earth Basics
Google Earth offers a variety of useful tools and features that go beyond merely looking at cool satellite
images of the Earth. Note: the information below is based on Google Earth 5.
Latitude/Longitude
Google Earth displays the latitude and longitude of the mouse pointer at the bottom of the screen. This is
a convenient feature to determine the latitude and longitude of points anywhere on the planet.
Tools – Options – 3D View allows you to change the unit used for latitude and longitude to decimal
degrees used in ArcGIS.
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Distance Measurements
The Ruler Tool allows you to measure distance along a straight line or a path.
Historical Images
Google Earth 5 allows you to display historical images as they are available. Simply click on the Analog
Clock icon on the Toolbar to activate a time slider to switch between available acquisition dates.
3D Viewing
Check the Terrain Layer under Layers Tab to see the surface of the Earth in 3D. Set the vertical
exaggeration of the display runder Tools – Option – 3D View. Hit R on your keyboard anytime to change
the viewing angle back to straight-down.
3D Buildings
Check the 3D Building Layer under Layers Tab to open 3D building models featured in Google 3D
Warehouse.
Global Awareness
The Global Awareness Layer under the Layers Tab has several sub-layers related to global environmental
and social justice issues, for example the U.N. Environment Program’s Atlas of Our Changing
Environment.
Google Earth Layers related to Energy
The National Audubon Society and the Natural Resources Defense Council created this Google Earth
layer to pull together endangered species habitats, national parks and other forms of protected land from
13 western states.
URL: http://earth.google.com/gallery/kmz/protected_areas_energy_development.kmz
For more layers, explore the Google Earth Outreach Showcase:
URL: http://earth.google.com/outreach/showcase.html
5.4) Personalized Maps with Google Earth
Google Earth allows you to save your places as KML or KMZ files – thus you can create your own
dynamic custom maps, complete with 3D animations, GPS data, pictures, and YouTube videos. These
KML/KMZ files can be put on websites or emailed as attachments.
Map of Stanley Park: http://www.wsc.ma.edu/garp/faculty/gisfiles/stanleypark.kmz
KML and KMZ are Google Earth’s file format for storing maps (i.e. data) – much the same way that
DOC is the file format used by MS Word.
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KML = Keyhole Markup Language. A KML file is a simple text file and if you understand basic
HTML you will have little problem understanding the syntax of KML.
http://code.google.com/apis/kml/documentation/kml_tut.html
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KMZ = KML-Zipped = a compressed version of the file. It allows any images you use to
be zipped up within the KMZ file and reduces the file size.
http://code.google.com/apis/kml/documentation/kmzarchives.html
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Notes
Notes
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