Guest essay by Eric Worrall
More evidence that taxpayer funds are not required for climate research.
UN Environment and Google announce ground-breaking partnership to protect our planet
New York, 16 July 2018 – UN Environment and Google announced today a global partnership that promises to change the way we see our planet. Combining environmental science, big data and unprecedented accessibility, this joint effort aims to expand what the world knows about the impacts of human activity on global ecosystems.
When completed, the platform will leverage Google’s cloud computing and earth observation public catalogs and for the first time enable governments, NGO’s and the public to track specific environment-related development targets with a user-friendly Google front-end.
“We will only be able to solve the biggest environmental challenges of our time if we get the data right,” Head of UN Environment Erik Solheim said. “UN Environment is excited to be partnering with Google, to make sure we have the most sophisticated online tools to track progress, identify priority areas for our action, and bring us one step closer to a sustainable world.”
Too often, when a country seeks to implement real-time environmental action, they find their efforts halted by gaps in critical data needed to direct those actions safely and effectively. Through this partnership, and Google Earth Engine’s analysis and visualization tools, the world can finally begin to fill those gaps, enabling decision makers to better invest in environmental services.
“This partnership announcement builds on a common shared vision between our organizations,” said Rebecca Moore, Director, Google Earth, Earth Engine & Earth Outreach. “We are excited to enable all countries with equal access to the latest technology and information in support of global climate action and sustainable development.”
Long term, the partnership hopes to establish a platform for open-source data and analysis of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. As an entry point to development, the partnership launches today with an initial focus on fresh-water ecosystems including mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes.
These areas account for 0.01% of the world’s water but provide habitat for almost 10% of the world’s known species and evidence suggests a rapid loss freshwater biodiversity.
Google will periodically produce geospatial maps and data on water-related ecosystems by employing massive parallel cloud computing technology. Satellite imagery and statistics will be generated to assess the extent of change occurring to waterbodies, and made freely accessible to ensure nations have the opportunity to track changes, prevent and reverse ecosystem loss.
Other areas of collaboration include advocacy and capacity building activities as well as the development of partnerships with organizations like the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC), the European Space Agency (ESA), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
The partnership was launched during the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in at UN Headquarters in New York, where world leaders are gathering to review of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – a set of clear, measurable goals for global development – as well as best practices and progress towards implementation.
Isn’t this how it should be? Private organisations with an interest in a field of research stepping in with their own money, instead of demanding money from the taxpayer.
I’m open to the idea of government funding for pure research, but Google’s actions surely demonstrate that in a high profile field like climate research there is simply no need for taxpayer involvement, because there are plenty of private individuals and companies with the resources and motivation to provide the required research funding.
Update (EW): Fixed a typo (h/t Clyde Spencer)
…just when you think Google can’t squeeze in any more propaganda………
I did not find anything about Google providing funds. They offer computer services.
Google seeks to control both the data and the message.
Just like betting money on Hillary.
Now that Trump is getting control of the “out of control” NASA and NOAA departments, the u.n. (Universal Nutjobs) and googly goo want to become the new “Gate Keepers” of climate data !! We are in the “Adjustocene” remember…
Whilst Google (actually Alphabet) is free to do with its own money as it wants, it is still a publicly traded company with responsibilites to shareholders. So I see your point Eric. But all Alphabet is doing is putting real money in the Green Virtue Signalling Bank blackhole. So if the CEO and Directors think this is wise money spent, that’s literally their business.
But I have to chuckle at the hubris in those press statements.
“We will only be able to solve the biggest environmental challenges of our time if we get the data right,”
The implicit assumption in that statement is actually hilarious.
And then there is this statement,
” Satellite imagery and statistics will be generated to assess the extent of change occurring to waterbodies, and made freely accessible to ensure nations have the opportunity to track changes, prevent and reverse ecosystem loss.”
The poster child for this is Bangladesh. but no one needs advanced cloud computing resources to know what Bangladesh’s main problems are (ans: too many people living in a sinking river delta), or how to solve them (ans: have much fewer people living in a sinking river delta).
They pretend its Rocket Science needing Big Data crunching. It’s not of course.
What they really want is fewer people consuming limited resources in more ecologically friendly ways. And the only way to do that is to decrease birthrates by increasing GDP per capita, which is dependent on energy consumption. And without abundant use of fossil fuels by the 3rd World to achieve that, anything else is just Green Washing the problems with political junk rhetoric.
Shut down google the left wing propaganda crap hole. It looked like they were involved with hacking down the Brietbart site today.
“We will only be able to solve the biggest environmental challenges of our time if we get the data right,” Head of UN Environment Erik Solheim said. “UN Environment is excited to be partnering with Google, to make sure we have the most sophisticated online tools to track progress, identify priority areas for our action, and bring us one step closer to a sustainable world.”
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Sounds reasonable – and promising!
Eric, in your first sentence did you mean “More evidence…” rather than “Move evidence…?”
‘Climate research’ is code for ‘totalitarian agenda’.
Mozilla Firefox works.
Hihgjnbfhmko
Good to see that one of the planet’s largest consumers of electricity, i.e. largest polluters, is going to give everyone easy access to THEIR tools to monitor climate change. Of course, we can all trust this large polluter to create software that is totally unbiased & completely accurate. The fact that it will also perfectly mirror the “settled science” position on climate change is a no-brainer.
Considering that I use various Google products, I am disappointed that they want to publicly wave their “virtue” under our noses while doing the exact opposite in their fight for advertisers dollars.
“We will only be able to solve the biggest environmental challenges of our time if we get the data right”
Data manipulation.
Data tempering.
Data homogenisation.
Data massaging.
Selection bias.
Ascertainment bias.
Question bias.
Comparison bias.
Outcome bias.
We really really need to get rid of the UN.
https://ssrn.com/abstract=2794991
“Satellite imagery … will be generated …”. I certainly hope that this part of the statement is just another case of the press-release author not knowing what he or she is writing about. I don’t want Google generating satellite data – let the satellite do that.
I wonder if this will change Google search results.
I don’t trust Google. I don’t “Google” anything (DuckDuckGo), I don’t use Chrome, I don’t have a gmail account and I don’t use Google maps. I do occasionally look at YouTube however I don’t have an account. I also don’t use an Android phone.
Instead I trust my soul to Apple, which actually may be worse but at least they aren’t so blatant about using my personal information.
Time to short Google shares perhaps.
Too often, when a country seeks to implement real-time environmental action, they find their efforts halted by gaps in critical data needed to direct those actions safely and effectively.
By “gaps in critical data,” you mean evidence that anything need be done at all?
Switching to Duck Duck Go
“We will only be able to solve the biggest environmental challenges of our time if we get the data right…”
So they’re saying we haven’t got the data right. I’d say they’re more qualified than most to know if it is right? Many skeptics are in agreement that there are problems with the data.
Google is one of the largest publicly traded companies. I don’t care what anyone says about them, I’ll never sell their stock. They must be tired of winning.
“…a user-friendly Google front-end”
It’s the user-unfriendly back-end we have to be worried about.
Im not as cheery as you Eric about this. This organization will be funding or permitting use of its huge computing resources to foist a totally made up metric on us by our marxbrother masters. Sustainable development is a crock invented as a political control tool! Earth’s resources are colossal vis a vis their usage.
Mining has become a “topping up” exercise. Except for a few tons shipped to other planetary bodies, all that has been produced remains largely accessible on the earth’s surface. Your gold ring has metal in it mined millennia ago. Technology has refuced unit demand for earth resources to a tiny fraction of what was needed only a few decades ago. Think a 1960s computer requiring a large airconditioned room with a fraction of the computing power your pocket calculator which happens to be your phone, camera, word messaging device, tv radio, home security…
Think substitution. We dont demand zinc, we demand rust proofing for steel, batteries, etc. etc. Copper for comunications, transfering information, electrical conductance is now old fashioned. The earths crust is 10% alumina, 60″ silica we can make conductors out of Al, fibre optic cable from silica, go wireless… We will never run out of resources. Resources accummulate and we miniaturize. Why isnt this important enough to teach in school and save us from the ugly carrion that write and plan all this Malthusian stupidity.
If only they could be convinced to drive to and map every weather station.