Possibly one of the coolest tools to come out of the Internet in the past few years has been Google Earth. There is probably not a person alive who has not checked out their own home from outer space using this innovative tool. Most news outlets use Google Earth when showing a map, and getting directions have never been the same since Google Earth hit the net. Google Earth continues to change how we see our planet, and that is evident in the new way people can not only see their house, but the pollution that exists near it. Many people may not realize that a cement facility near them is pumping large amounts of chemicals into the air over their home, but with Google Earth, they can now see the ugly facts of the air around their home.

Thanks to a new tool that has been provided by Google Earth and the Environmental Protection Agency, people in the United States can now look at what is poisoning them. They can track the air quality of their community, or see what pollutants exist in an area you are planning to move to. The tool will check for levels of carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen oxide, VOCs, particulate matter and sulfur dioxide. On top of that, you can identify some big emitters that may live in your area, of which you should be concerned about. These facilities include:

• Cement Facilities


• Chemical Manufacturing Facilities


• Electric Generation Facilities


• Natural Gas Pipelines


• Oil and Gas Production Facilities


• Petroleum Refineries


• Pulp and Paper Facilities

Naturally, for this to work, you need to have Google Earth installed on your computer. When you visit the website, you will be provided with a Google Earth emissions file from the EPA, that you can load into your Google Earth software.

It is a very interesting type of software, and it could very well change how people move and where they move. When you can see how much lead is in the air at the place your are planning on moving to, you may choose to move somewhere else instead. As well, when people see how many pollutants are in their air near their home, they may decide not to live there anymore, or to pressure local governments to do something about it.

It would seem, Google Earth is changing how we see the Earth once again.