Sun, 17 Dec 2006 10:24:55 GMT
Google Earth File Against Logging Leads to Support from Al Gore, and Other Anti-Logging Efforts.
The San Jose Mercury News published a story by Scott Herhhold December 3rd on the efforts to stop a logging plan for the Santa Cruz mountains near Los Gatos, California. The efforts to stop the plan by residents in the area got a huge boost after a Google Earth file, created to illustrate the logging plan, was shown to former Vice-President Al Gore who immediately spoke out against the plan. “The proposal is deeply flawed,'” he said. “The commercial logging of these trees simply makes no sense.'” Many of the trees are redwoods.
The Google Earth file was created by a member of the Google Earth team at Google named Rebecca Moore. She lives in the area and created this Google Earth file 
several months ago. It shows the planned logging area, location of streams and creeks, schools, homes and of course the trees themselves. Using Google Earth to show the beautiful area has been very powerful for stirring debate about the proposal. Powerful enough to get Al Gore to speak against it.
Other people concerned about the effects of logging on the environment have begun creating similar GE illustrations. I recently wrote about the Victorian Rainforest Network’s efforts to show logging plans in Australia. The Wilderness Society in Australia has created GE files illustrating widespread logging plans on the island of Tasmania. And, over a year ago I wrote about researchers who had developed a technique for discovering logging which has been going on in the Amazon underneath the forest canopy using satellite technology.
