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Imagery on Google Maps of Fukushima Exclusion Zone Town Namie-machi
March 27, 2013
From time to time we invite guests to post about items or interest and are pleased to have Mister Tamotsu Baba, Mayor of Namie-machi, Fukushima, Japan, join us here. - Ed.
Namie-machi
is a small city in Fukushima Prefecture sitting along the coast of the Pacific. We are blessed with both ocean and mountains, and known as a place where you can experience both the beauty of the sea and the forests. Tragically, however, since the nuclear accident caused by the
Great East Japan Earthquake
of March 11, 2011, all of Namie-machi’s 21,000 townspeople have had to flee their homes.
Two years have passed since the disaster, but people still aren’t allowed to enter Namie-machi. Many of the displaced townspeople have asked to see the current state of their city, and there are surely many people around the world who want a better sense of how the nuclear incident affected surrounding communities.
Working with Google, we were able to drive Street View cars through Namie-machi to capture panoramic images of the abandoned city exactly as it stands today. Starting today, this
Street View imagery
is available on Google Maps and the
Memories for the Future site
, so anyone from Namie or around the world can view it.
View Larger Map
Here is one of Namie-machi’s main streets, which we often used for outdoor events like our big Ten Days of Autumn festival that saw 300 street stalls and 100,000 visitors.
View Larger Map
Many buildings, like this one in the foreground, collapsed during the earthquake, and we still have not been able to remove them. We are also unable to repair damaged buildings and shops nor prepare them for the potential impact of further aftershocks.
View Larger Map
This image shows an area located one kilometer inland from the Pacific Ocean. In the distance you can see
Ukedo Elementary School
. Nearby Ukedo Harbor once proudly boasted 140 fishing boats and 500 buildings, but suffered some of the worst tsunami damage. After being set off-limits, we have not been able to clean up the wreckage on the side of the road, including the many fishing boats that were washed several kilometers inland.
Ever since the March disaster, the rest of the world has been moving forward, and many places in Japan have started recovering. But in Namie-machi time stands still. With the lingering nuclear hazard, we have only been able to do cursory work for two whole years. We would greatly appreciate it if you viewed this Street View imagery to understand the current state of Namie-machi and the tremendous gravity of the situation.
Those of us in the older generation feel that we received this town from our forebearers, and we feel great pain that we cannot pass it down to our children. It has become our generation’s duty to make sure future generations understand the city’s history and culture—maybe even those who will not remember the Fukushima nuclear accident. We want this Street View imagery to become a permanent record of what happened to Namie-machi in the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster.
Finally, I want to make a renewed commitment to recovering from the nuclear hazard. It may take many years and many people’s help, but we will never give up taking back our hometown.
(Cross-posted and translated from the
Google Japan Blog
)
Posted by Mr. Tamotsu Baba, Mayor of Namie-machi, Fukushima, Japan
Enabling the next generation of computer scientists with CS4HS
March 27, 2013
For the past four years, Google has sponsored an initiative called
Computer Science for High School (CS4HS)
. The mission of this aptly named collaboration is simple: to bring computer science professional development to educators through hands-on workshops. In collaboration with universities, colleges and technical schools, we have helped K-12 educators bring CS into their classrooms around the world; to date, we have helped train more than 6,000 teachers worldwide—from Canada to China, Germany to New Zealand, our programs reach more and more countries with every iteration.
Today, we are pleased to announce the recipients of the 5th annual CS4HS Google grant. (To see the full list, visit our
site
.) As our program grows, we are working to engage as many teachers as possible in our CS efforts. To that end, this year we are offering four free
MOOC
courses for educators who may not be physically close to one of our workshops, but who are eager to learn the basics of computer science. In addition, we are launching our new
CS4HS Community page
; join the conversation and help shape the next generation of computer scientists!
Posted by Erin Mindell, Program Manager, EngEDU
Global Impact Awards’ hunt for U.K.’s most innovative social entrepreneurs starts today
March 24, 2013
From
cracking the human genome
to
advancing medical research through computer games
, British social entrepreneurs have a proud history of using technology to make the world a better place.
Last year, we launched the
Global Impact Awards
to support nonprofits using technology to tackle some of the world’s toughest problems. We gave $23 million to seven organizations working on projects ranging from aerial technology that protects wildlife to data algorithms that ensure more girls and minorities get placed in advanced math and science classes.
Today, as the next step in the Impact Awards, we’re kicking off our first
Global Impact Challenge
in the U.K., inviting British nonprofits to tell us how they would use technology to transform lives. Four nonprofits will each receive a £500,000 Global Impact Award, as well as Chromebooks and technical assistance from Googlers to help make their project a reality.
Applications open today, and registered British nonprofits are invited to apply online at
g.co/impactchallenge
. We’ll review applications and announce 10 finalists on May 22. At that point, people across the U.K. can learn more about the projects of the top 10 finalists, donate to the ones they like and cast a vote for fan favorite. On June 3, the top 10 finalists will pitch their concepts to a judging panel that includes us (Matt Brittin and Jacquelline Fuller), Sir Richard Branson, Sir Tim Berners-Lee and Jilly Forster. The three awardees and the fan favorite will be revealed at the event, which will take place at Google London.
Technology can help solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges and we’re eager to back innovators who are finding new ways to make an impact. Today we’re starting the hunt in the U.K., but we also know that nonprofits all over the world are using techy approaches to develop new solutions in their sector. Who knows, the Global Impact Challenge might head your way next.
Posted by Jacquelline Fuller, director of Google Giving, and Matt Brittin, VP, sales and operations, Northern and Central Europe
Urban art, zoomorphic whistles and Hungarian poetry
March 21, 2013
There are few places (if any) in the world where you could find urban art, zoomorphic whistles* and Hungarian poetry in a single place—except, of course, on the Internet.
Today 30 new partners are joining the
Google Art Project
, contributing nearly 2,000 diverse works including contemporary art from
Latin America
, ancient art from
China
, rare
Japanese
paintings and Palaeolithic flint heads from
Spain
.
One highlight of the new collection is a
project
to capture the growing trend of urban art and graffiti in Brazil. More than 100 works from walls, doors and galleries in São Paulo have been photographed and will be included in the Art Project. The pieces were chosen by a group of journalists, artists and graffiti experts and include artists such as
Speto
,
Kobra
and
Space Invader
, as well as images of São Paulo’s most famous building-size murals. You can see the contrast in styles in the
Compare
tool and image below.
Photography features strongly in the works our partners are bringing online this time around. The
Fundacion MAPFRE
in Spain showcases one of the largest collections with more than 300 photos from a number of renowned photographers. For example, you can explore Mexican photographer Graciela Iturbide’s black and white
images
of indigenous Mexican culture inspired by themes of ritual, death and feminism.
The Art Project is also becoming a home to rare and precious items which move beyond paintings.
Petőfi Literary Museum
in Hungary has contributed the Nemzeti Dal or “
National Song
,” a Hungarian poem which is said to have been the inspiration for the Hungarian Revolution of 1848. The original document has rarely been seen in public to prevent humidity and light fading the script further. Online now for the first time, it can be explored by anyone in the world.
With 40,000+ artworks to explore from more than 200 museums in more than 40 countries, we look forward to seeing these new works feature in hundreds of thousands of user galleries you have created to date. Keep an eye on our
Google+ page
for more details about the new collections.
*ceramic whistles in the shape of animals!
Posted by Shahina Rahman, Google Art Project
Google Keep—Save what’s on your mind
March 20, 2013
Every day we all see, hear or think of things we need to remember. Usually we grab a pad of sticky-notes, scribble a reminder and put it on the desk, the fridge or the relevant page of a magazine. Unfortunately, if you’re like me you probably often discover that the desk, fridge or magazine wasn’t such a clever place to leave the note after all...it’s rarely where you need it when you need it.
To solve this problem we’ve created Google Keep. With Keep you can quickly jot ideas down when you think of them and even include checklists and photos to keep track of what’s important to you. Your notes are safely stored in Google Drive and synced to all your devices so you can always have them at hand.
If it’s more convenient to speak than to type that’s fine—Keep transcribes voice memos for you automatically. There’s super-fast search to find what you’re looking for and when you’re finished with a note you can archive or delete it.
Changing priorities isn’t a problem: just open Keep on your Android phone or tablet (there’s a widget so you can have Keep front and center all the time) and drag your notes around to reflect what matters. You can choose the color for each note too.
Pro tip: for adding thoughts quickly without unlocking your device there's a lock screen widget (on devices running Android 4.2+).
Google Keep
is available on Google Play for devices running Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich and above. You can access, edit and create new notes on the web at
http://drive.google.com/keep
and in the coming weeks you'll be able to do the same directly from Google Drive.
Posted by Katherine Kuan, Software Engineer
Make a silent movie by talking to Chrome
March 19, 2013
Last month
, the
Web Speech API
brought voice recognition to
Chrome
users in more than 30 languages. We thought it would be fun to demonstrate this new technology by using an old one: silent film.
The Peanut Gallery
lets you add
intertitles
to old black-and-white movie clips just by talking out loud while you watch them. Create a film and share it with friends, so they can bring out their inner screenwriters too.
We hope that developers will find many uses for the Web Speech API, both fun and practical—including new ways to navigate, search, enter text, and interact with the web. We can’t wait to see how people use it.
Posted by Aaron Koblin, Creative Lab
(Cross-posted from the
Chrome blog
)
Explore Everest, Kilimanjaro and more with Google Maps
March 18, 2013
Most of us have a bucket list of the places we want to visit in our lifetime. If you’re like me, the list is pretty long—to be honest I’d be lucky to get to all of mine. Google Maps has a bucket list too, and today we’re checking off a couple of our favorites so we can make our map more comprehensive and share it with you. And if tall mountains are your thing, you’re in luck.
Now you can explore some of the most famous mountains on Earth, including Aconcagua (South America), Kilimanjaro (Africa), Mount Elbrus (Europe) and Everest Base Camp (Asia) on Google Maps. These mountains belong to the group of peaks known as the Seven Summits—the highest mountain on each of the seven continents. While there’s nothing quite like standing on the mountain, with Google Maps you can instantly transport yourself to the top of these peaks and enjoy the sights without all of the avalanches, rock slides, crevasses, and dangers from altitude and weather that mountaineers face.
Start your adventure on Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro, the dormant volcano known as the Roof of Africa. See amazing views of the highest freestanding mountain in the world covered in snow just three degrees south of the equator.
View Larger Map
At 19,341 ft, Uhuru is the highest point on Mount Kilimanjaro
Next, travel to the tallest mountain in Europe, Russia’s Mount Elbrus, and see huts made from Soviet-era fuel barrels. Climbers have to take refuge in the huts built on the mountain when the weather turns wretched.
Get imagery of
Mt. Elbrus
and all of the other mountains on Google Maps on
your iPhone
and
Android device
Explore Argentina’s mighty Aconcagua, the highest peak in both the Western and Southern Hemispheres. See how a base camp is set up amongst the exposed rock in Plaza Argentina and how expeditions eat, camp and prepare for their ascent.
View Larger Map
A permanent park ranger camp, as well as a helipad and medical center are available during climbing seasons at Plaza Argentina
Finally, make your way to Everest Base Camp, where expeditions stage their attempts to reach the top of the world. Along the ascent, steal glimpses of the snow-capped Himalayan mountain peaks and the awesome Khumbu glacier.
View Larger Map
The route to Everest Base Camp is one of the most popular trekking routes in the Himalayas and is visited by thousands of trekkers each year
This imagery was collected with a simple lightweight tripod and digital camera with a fisheye lens—equipment typically used for our
Business Photos program
. See the slideshow below and our
Lat Long Blog
for a behind-the-scenes look at the regular Googlers that actually climbed these mountains to capture this stunning photography.
Behind-the-scenes shots of the expedition team
Whether you’re scoping out the mountain for your next big adventure or exploring it from the comfort and warmth of your home, we hope you enjoy these views from the top of the world. See more of our favorite shots on the
Street View Gallery
. We’ll also be hosting a
Hangout on Air
today at 10:00 am PT where we’ll share stories from our expeditions and answer questions about this special collection.
Posted by Dan Fredinburg, Google adventurer, on behalf of entire expedition team
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