Google Earth: The Ultimate NIMBY Tool

The EPA has harnessed Google Earth to give us the most detailed picture of point-source pollution ever: a Google Earth map showing every major power plant, oil field, petroleum refinery, chemical factory, cement manufacturer and paper mill in America. In short, it's a NIMBY dream. From the comfort of your home you can pull up the biggest smokestacks in the hood and imagine precise amounts of NOx, SOx, VOCs drifting down to your lawn. Fun, fun, fun!

Of course, the EPA probably hopes the fun will make you forget how it substantially weakened requirements that companies disclose toxic releases this year, and that it now offers significantly less public info in its popular Toxics Release Inventory reports. Earlier this month the GAO found that the EPA had been pressured to scale back the reports by the White House. The EPA had "expedited" the decision to satisfy the Office of Management and Budget, which wanted to reduce the paperwork burden on industry, the GAO found.

So take the maps with a grain of salt. Air, for the time being, still can't be Googled.

Comments

Hey All,

WEll, what do you think F.D.R. would have thought of giving our enemies a pin-point map to all our infra-structure, during WWII...? You Lib's are SOOOOO helpful to the ENEMY..!!! You actually think it is GOOD to give them a map of where we are vulerable..? HUH..? Can you imagine 1943, and the JAP'S having a map of the location of San Onofre NUC. plant..? Dang, you peope are just BEGGING for our country to be WACKED...HUH...?

Bill..:-(

Posted by: Bill Nigh on 12/27/07 at 10:53 PM Respond

By the way,.. if any of you think I am some Redneck,.. YES..!! and proud of it...

but not from the south, sorry,.. born and raised in Riverside...

North High School...

(by the way, there is no more committed REDNECK than one who was born NORTH of the Mason /Dixon line.. ..:-)

U.C.S.D. Class of 1986:

Applied Physics..Thanks Prof. Wong..!!!

GO TRITONS..!!!

Blacks Beach RULES...!!! Thanks for the view Gals..!!!

Bill..:-)

Posted by: Bill Nigh on 12/27/07 at 11:00 PM Respond

HOOOOLD on there a second Billy-boy. The EPA is a federal institution heavily populated by appointees from the CURRENT administration. Who are the "LIBS" you so casually use as straw men in your rant?
Furthermore, imagining that a terrorist would have to go to Google Earth to find out this kind of information is a fantasy. This information is available in a large number of places and should be.
You are far more vulnerable to the every-day effects of a chemical plant near you than you are to any kind of terrorist attack. You might as well worry about being hit by a meteor as worry about being hurt by a terrorist.
Get some perspective.

Posted by: FPG on 12/28/07 at 7:27 AM Respond

I don't know of anyone killed by a meteor in recorded history. Terrorists, on the other hand have killed a few of us and continue to try. Without doubt, they would have done so if they could. The fact that they have not must be Bush's fault.

Posted by: wbh on 12/29/07 at 9:43 AM Respond

Bush's fault? Let's look closer at this. Iraq did not attack us. There is far and away ample proof of the desire to destroy Iraq and steal the oil long before 911. In said war over one million people have died, far and away innocent women and children. If you say it is the terrorists tm. that have done this your argument flounders. The fact is Bush created more pain suffering and sorrow than any other man in recent history.

Posted by: call me bwana on 12/29/07 at 1:33 PM Respond

All:
Have any of you tried topozone.com? How about terraserver.com? The U.S.G.S. quads show the location of pipelines, railroads, pwer plants, etc. The aerials on terraserver are fairly current. The EPA is decades behind making this type of info available. Those of use who actually work on defending USA infrastructure are VERY aware of the readily-available sources of info on our vulnerable infrastructure. Get a grip and get a life!

Posted by: Paul on 01/05/08 at 11:14 PM Respond