Looking at climate change in 2100, Google Earth-style

What will happen to Earth between now and 2100? And more importantly, how do you get people to care about our climate future? That's what environmentalists, scientists, and even TV people are all asking -- and using everything from Google Earth to online games in an effort to engage people.

Put Google Earth together with British scientists, and you get "Climate Change In Our World," an "interactive animation showing how climate change and global temperature rises could affect our world over the next 100 years." (via Grist) Google Earth fans can now watch a time lapse of the Earth heating up simply by downloading a KML.

I actually found the app a tad disappointing -- but I think it's because I expected way too much. Somehow I thought I'd get animations of cities dramatically getting submerged, lakes drying out to turn into deserts. "Climate Change In Our World" is much less dramatic than that. Mainly, the color of the globe changes -- some areas much faster than others -- to warmer colors as temperatures go up. Plus the app lets you zoom in to different cities to read geographic-specific tidbits of climate predictions. A look at California shows we're really, really, going to need to prepare for severe water shortages.

"Climate Change In Our World" uses medium-case climate scenarios, with the message that the issue at hand now is not so much about preventing climate disaster, but preparing for it. After all, environmental disasters are already happening around the world; a lot of damage has already been done.

Of course, we can take action to prevent worst-case scenarios. And there's a webby new game to get people engaged with those issues too. More about that in the next post.

Comments

[Jeff]

I agree with your comment about a bit of disappointment upon seeing the Climate Change application. Upon reflection though, I'm happy to see Google Earth being used this way as an enviro-educational tool. I also just heard about Fair Trade producers being highlighted in Google Earth. You can 'fly' in to see where certain fair-trade certified products are produced. What's next? green buildings, eco-resorts, etc. The potential for eco-education is limitless.