listEntries({"version":"1.0","encoding":"UTF-8","feed":{"xmlns":"http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom","xmlns$openSearch":"http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/","xmlns$georss":"http://www.georss.org/georss","xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164790564632732056"},"updated":{"$t":"2010-07-27T15:25:01.210-07:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Official google.org Blog"},"subtitle":{"type":"html","$t":""},"link":[{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://blog.google.org/feeds/posts/default"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default?alt\u003djson-in-script"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://blog.google.org/"},{"rel":"hub","href":"http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/"},{"rel":"next","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default?alt\u003djson-in-script\u0026start-index\u003d26\u0026max-results\u003d25"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"A Googler"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"}}],"generator":{"version":"7.00","uri":"http://www.blogger.com","$t":"Blogger"},"openSearch$totalResults":{"$t":"161"},"openSearch$startIndex":{"$t":"1"},"openSearch$itemsPerPage":{"$t":"25"},"entry":[{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164790564632732056.post-4828553238080917325"},"published":{"$t":"2010-07-20T08:11:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2010-07-20T08:15:51.935-07:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Open Source Altruism"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"Down a remote alleyway in Dar es Salaam, Gregory Mchopa picks up his paint brush and studies the empty canvas.  He closes his eyes and visualizes his next painting, whether that be a group of Maasai women collecting water from a well, or villagers dancing before a brilliant Tanzanian sunset.  For years, Gregory has been capturing the rich heritage of the Tanzanian Maasai with painstaking dedication.  His delicate strokes against the canvas radiate a warmth and brightness unrivaled by his peers - one that had once never reached far beyond that maze of streets in Dar es Salaam.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca onblur\u003d\"try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" href\u003d\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Qw6iwZD4gMQ/TEW9YaqtCwI/AAAAAAAABIM/9OrgFixdVJg/s1600/P1000387.JPG\"\u003e\u003cimg style\u003d\"display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;\" src\u003d\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Qw6iwZD4gMQ/TEW9YaqtCwI/AAAAAAAABIM/9OrgFixdVJg/s400/P1000387.JPG\" alt\u003d\"\" id\u003d\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496007147448503042\" border\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003eIt wasn't until the summer of 2007 that I first had the privilege of meeting Gregory Mchopa and witnessing his work.  I had traveled to Tanzania as part of an outreach trip for google.org, during which we met with local businesses in Dar es Salaam and gave presentations with the goal to spark local economic growth.  We spoke before local entrepreneurs, established businessmen, and government politicians; but it wasn't until we met a young artist deep in that maze of streets that we truly recognized the potential for sparking local enterprise.  After watching Gregory paint a brilliant work of three Maasai women carrying water over their heads to the backdrop of a sweeping red sky, he sat down to explain the difficulties of being an artist in Tanzania: a limited market, a lack of connectivity, and an absence of distribution channels.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eGregory suffered not for lack of passion or talent, but from the lack of technologies and services that could broadcast his work to a far wider audience.  After returning to the States, I worked with \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.brutelabs.org/\"\u003eBRUTE LABS\u003c/a\u003e (a non-profit I founded with several other Googlers) to build a simple website, \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.mchopa.com/\"\u003ewww.mchopa.com\u003c/a\u003e, that would bring Gregory's work before a global audience.  Using several Google tools that are free and easy to use - App Engine, Checkout, Spreadsheets, Gmail - we developed a website and interface for Gregory that serves as an open source model for other artists in the developing world seeking to showcase and sell their work.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eSince the launch of \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.mchopa.com/\"\u003emchopa.com\u003c/a\u003e in 2009, Gregory has sold 47 paintings and kept all of the profits.  Perhaps more significantly, Gregory's web presence has connected him with gallery representatives and individual collectors in the US, Canada, and the UK, many of whom have requested custom works for display.  The culture of the Maasai has now spread to people around the world.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eDown a remote alleyway in Dar es Salaam, Gregory Mchopa continues to faithfully wield his paint brush, capturing the heritage of his country and people.  But through Google's online suite of tools, he now wields the power to broadcast his work far beyond that maze of streets to a global audience of buyers, suppliers, and admirers. The only question left for us now: who's the next Gregory Mchopa?\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"byline-author\"\u003ePosted by Joshua To, Program Manager\u003c/span\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4164790564632732056-4828553238080917325?l\u003dblog.google.org' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/4828553238080917325"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/4828553238080917325"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://blog.google.org/2010/07/open-source-altruism.html","title":"Open Source Altruism"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Jamie Yood"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/00055778979957613057"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"14118214607831869425"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Qw6iwZD4gMQ/TEW9YaqtCwI/AAAAAAAABIM/9OrgFixdVJg/s72-c/P1000387.JPG","height":"72","width":"72"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164790564632732056.post-1790986767868167529"},"published":{"$t":"2010-07-20T00:02:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2010-07-20T00:05:35.394-07:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"In honour of Stephen Schneider"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"The world has lost a brilliant scientist, a dynamic communicator, and a caring soul.  Dr. Stephen Schneider, a Stanford Professor and a global leader in climate change science died Monday morning of a heart attack.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eSteve was an important mentor and friend to me, as I know he was to many scientists and activists around the world.  For many years I turned to Steve for advice on climate science and insights into the political process.   I remember one line he often repeated to me:\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e“Amy, when it comes to climate science, always stick to the facts, the truth is bad enough.”\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eSteve was brilliant at communicating the facts in plain language – always driving home the message of risk.  Managing climate change was like his struggle with leukemia, it required making decisions with incomplete information to improve the odds that you live a better and longer life.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eLast year Steve collaborated with us on developing a \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.google.com/landing/cop15/\"\u003eGoogle Earth tour\u003c/a\u003e  that provides a glimpse of his communication power.  I remember as we were putting the final touches on this Google Earth Tour, I asked Steve if he would be at the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.wmo.int/wcc3/page_en.php\"\u003eWorld Climate Conference\u003c/a\u003e in Geneva, hoping we could meet up in person.   His response in a late night email was:\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e“Nope, I won’t be there. I was at first two, as described in detail in \u003ca href\u003d\"http://stephenschneider.stanford.edu/SAACS/saacs_book.htm\"\u003eScience as a Contact Sport\u003c/a\u003e—we got the ball rolling. SO your generation now takes up the baton--have fun.” \u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eWe have the baton Steve and will not let it go.  And in your honor, I promise to have fun.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"byline-author\"\u003ePosted by Dr. Amy Luers, Sr. Environmental Program Manager\u003c/span\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4164790564632732056-1790986767868167529?l\u003dblog.google.org' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/1790986767868167529"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/1790986767868167529"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://blog.google.org/2010/07/in-honour-of-stephen-schneider.html","title":"In honour of Stephen Schneider"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Jamie Yood"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/00055778979957613057"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"14118214607831869425"}}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164790564632732056.post-1949081005281430717"},"published":{"$t":"2010-06-30T22:39:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2010-07-20T08:11:37.135-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Green"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Bob Dudley, Chief Executive for BP Response, answers your questions about the oil spill"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-size: small;\"\u003e(Cross-posted from \u003ca href\u003d\"http://youtube-global.blogspot.com/2010/06/bob-dudley-chief-executive-for-bp.html\"\u003eThe Official YouTube Blog\u003c/a\u003e)\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eIt’s been 71 days since the offshore drilling rig Deepwater Horizon exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, causing the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history. Since then, we’ve used our platforms to make sure that people can watch and participate in real time, access all the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.google.com/crisisresponse/oilspill/\"\u003elatest information on the crisis and response\u003c/a\u003e and share concerns through various programs and initiatives.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eNow we’re teaming up with \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.youtube.com/pbsnewshour\"\u003ePBS NewsHour\u003c/a\u003e to take you to BP headquarters in Houston for an exclusive interview with Bob Dudley, President and CEO of BP’s Gulf Coast Restoration Organization. In a live session moderated by the PBS NewsHour’s Ray Suarez, Mr. Dudley will respond directly to \u003ca href\u003d\"http://youtube.com/citizentube\"\u003eyour questions\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cobject width\u003d\"560\" height\u003d\"340\"\u003e\u003cparam name\u003d\"movie\" value\u003d\"http://www.youtube.com/v/OnSjqUhWq2A\u0026amp;hl\u003den_US\u0026amp;fs\u003d1\"\u003e\u003c/param\u003e\u003cparam name\u003d\"allowFullScreen\" value\u003d\"true\"\u003e\u003c/param\u003e\u003cparam name\u003d\"allowscriptaccess\" value\u003d\"always\"\u003e\u003c/param\u003e\u003cembed src\u003d\"http://www.youtube.com/v/OnSjqUhWq2A\u0026amp;hl\u003den_US\u0026amp;fs\u003d1\" type\u003d\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" allowscriptaccess\u003d\"always\" allowfullscreen\u003d\"true\" width\u003d\"560\" height\u003d\"340\"\u003e\u003c/embed\u003e\u003c/object\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eNow is your chance to \u003ca href\u003d\"http://youtube.com/citizentube\"\u003eask BP questions\u003c/a\u003e on accountability, the clean-up plan, recovery efforts in the Gulf Region, environmental impact, the status of the relief well drilling, the role of the U.S. government, the future of offshore drilling and of BP as a company.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eUsing \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.google.com/moderator/#16/e\u003d17638\"\u003eGoogle Moderator\u003c/a\u003e on \u003ca href\u003d\"http://youtube.com/citizentube\"\u003eyoutube.com/citizentube\u003c/a\u003e, submit your questions and vote the best ones to the top. Then join us for the live interview tomorrow, Thursday, July 1, at 3:30 pm ET/12:30 pm PT on \u003ca href\u003d\"http://youtube.com/citizentube\"\u003eCitizenTube\u003c/a\u003e. Portions of the interview will also be aired Thursday evening on the PBS NewsHour and available on YouTube.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eEarly on, we partnered with NewsHour to bring you a \u003ca href\u003d\"http://youtube-global.blogspot.com/2010/05/watch-gulf-oil-spill-live-on-youtube.html\"\u003elive stream of the oil gushing into the waters of the Gulf\u003c/a\u003e. On June 15, we streamed President Obama’s Oval Office address on the oil spill crisis on CitizenTube. After the President’s speech, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs \u003ca href\u003d\"http://youtube-global.blogspot.com/2010/06/white-house-takes-your-questions-about.html\"\u003eanswered questions submitted by YouTube users\u003c/a\u003e, who cast nearly 200,000 votes to select the top questions from 7,000+ submitted.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eWe hope that these various opportunities to engage and participate in a current event help you and fellow citizens stay more informed and have your voice heard.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"byline-author\"\u003ePosted by Olivia Ma, YouTube News Manager, and Ginny Hunt, Google Public Sector Manager\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4164790564632732056-1949081005281430717?l\u003dblog.google.org' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/1949081005281430717"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/1949081005281430717"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://blog.google.org/2010/06/bob-dudley-chief-executive-for-bp.html","title":"Bob Dudley, Chief Executive for BP Response, answers your questions about the oil spill"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Jamie Yood"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/00055778979957613057"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"14118214607831869425"}}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164790564632732056.post-92567078012924617"},"published":{"$t":"2010-06-15T11:38:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2010-06-15T11:44:03.952-07:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"The White House takes your questions about the oil spill on YouTube"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:85%;\"\u003e(Cross-posted from the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://youtube-global.blogspot.com/2010/06/white-house-takes-your-questions-about.html\"\u003eYouTube blog\u003c/a\u003e)\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eTonight at 8 p.m. ET, watch President Obama live on the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.youtube.com/whitehouse\"\u003eWhite House YouTube channel\u003c/a\u003e as he addresses the nation about the Gulf oil spill. Then 15 minutes after the remarks, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs will answer your questions. Starting right now, you can \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.youtube.com/whitehouse\"\u003esubmit questions\u003c/a\u003e about the disaster on Google Moderator, and vote the best ones to the top. Hear more from Mr. Gibbs:\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cobject width\u003d\"560\" height\u003d\"340\"\u003e\u003cparam name\u003d\"movie\" value\u003d\"http://www.youtube.com/v/bfPw2Orp-FI\u0026amp;hl\u003den_US\u0026amp;fs\u003d1\u0026amp;\"\u003e\u003cparam name\u003d\"allowFullScreen\" value\u003d\"true\"\u003e\u003cparam name\u003d\"allowscriptaccess\" value\u003d\"always\"\u003e\u003cembed src\u003d\"http://www.youtube.com/v/bfPw2Orp-FI\u0026amp;hl\u003den_US\u0026amp;fs\u003d1\u0026amp;\" type\u003d\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" allowscriptaccess\u003d\"always\" allowfullscreen\u003d\"true\" width\u003d\"560\" height\u003d\"340\"\u003e\u003c/embed\u003e\u003c/object\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eAlready, the conversation about the oil spill on the web has been lively. Earlier this month, thousands of you \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.google.com/moderator/#16/e\u003d68c8\"\u003esubmitted your ideas\u003c/a\u003e on how to clean up the oil spill on YouTube, several of which were aired during the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.youtube.com/pbsnewshour#p/search/26/hBodbmqiT78\"\u003ePBS NewsHour\u003c/a\u003e. And as more and more \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.google.com/insights/search/#q\u003doil%20spill%2C\u0026amp;geo\u003dUS\u0026amp;date\u003d4%2F2010%203m\u0026amp;cmpt\u003dq\"\u003eAmericans are searching\u003c/a\u003e on Google to find \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.google.com/crisisresponse/oilspill/#\"\u003einformation about the oil spill\u003c/a\u003e and cleanup efforts, we want to help you connect directly with the recovery process.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eNow’s your chance to hear the White House’s response to your questions about what many are calling the worst man-made environmental disaster in U.S. history. Submit questions now and vote on the ones you think are most important; then \u003ca href\u003d\"http://youtube.com/whitehouse\"\u003etune in tonight\u003c/a\u003e to watch the President’s address live on YouTube.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"byline-author\"\u003ePosted by Steve Grove, YouTube Head of News and Politics\u003c/span\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4164790564632732056-92567078012924617?l\u003dblog.google.org' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/92567078012924617"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/92567078012924617"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://blog.google.org/2010/06/white-house-takes-your-questions-about.html","title":"The White House takes your questions about the oil spill on YouTube"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Jamie Yood"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/00055778979957613057"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"14118214607831869425"}}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164790564632732056.post-3999621953068038715"},"published":{"$t":"2010-06-08T07:59:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2010-06-08T09:01:20.224-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Flu Trends"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"It’s flu o’clock somewhere"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"It’s flu season. Well, below the equator, it’s flu season. As we turn towards summer heat in the northern hemisphere, half of the globe has colder weather and more flu activity on the way.  Just as we expanded \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.google.org/flutrends/\"\u003eGoogle Flu Trends\u003c/a\u003e to \u003ca href\u003d\"http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/google-flu-trends-expands-to-16.html\"\u003emuch of Europe last fall\u003c/a\u003e in advance of the winter flu season, we’re bringing Google Flu Trends to eight additional countries in the southern hemisphere where winter is approaching.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eWe now show national estimates (and a few regions too!) of flu activity for Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, South Africa, and Uruguay, bringing our grand total of countries with Google Flu Trends estimates to 28.  As flu affects millions every year, these estimates made in near real-time give health officials an additional early warning tool which can help them to respond more quickly to flu outbreaks. This can be especially important when people from many countries converge in one place, like in South Africa for the World Cup. South Africa is the first country we’re adding in Africa, and we hope Google Flu Trends will provide useful information for football fans and foes alike.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eSeveral of the newly added countries are near the equator which means they won’t show a strong seasonal peak of flu activity. Brazil provides a neat example of how the flu season in a country becomes more pronounced as you are further away from the equator. In Ceará, a Brazilian province that is nearer to the equator, the Google Flu Trends estimates generally don’t show a strong peak. The chart below shows the current season curve as compared with last year’s curve:\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca onblur\u003d\"try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" href\u003d\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Qw6iwZD4gMQ/TA5cC0j1tCI/AAAAAAAABDY/M-9sLyfak10/s1600/ceara_09and10.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg style\u003d\"margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 159px;\" src\u003d\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Qw6iwZD4gMQ/TA5cC0j1tCI/AAAAAAAABDY/M-9sLyfak10/s400/ceara_09and10.jpg\" alt\u003d\"\" id\u003d\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480419000094929954\" border\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eYou can, however, see a stronger peak emerge as you move further south, away from the equator. Rio Grande do Sul offers a fine example of this, again comparing the current season with last year:\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca onblur\u003d\"try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" href\u003d\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Qw6iwZD4gMQ/TA5cDArryrI/AAAAAAAABDg/laujE3Hx0Sg/s1600/RioGrandeDoSul_10and09.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg style\u003d\"margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 166px;\" src\u003d\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Qw6iwZD4gMQ/TA5cDArryrI/AAAAAAAABDg/laujE3Hx0Sg/s400/RioGrandeDoSul_10and09.jpg\" alt\u003d\"\" id\u003d\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480419003349060274\" border\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eWhere more people are searching, our models will likely be more robust. We won’t be able to provide flu-related estimates if people aren’t searching for flu-related information online. In the U.S. we’ve given estimates that are \u003ca href\u003d\"http://blog.google.org/2010/05/researching-with-google-flu-trends.html\"\u003emore than 90% accurate\u003c/a\u003e as compared with the CDC’s ILINet data from which our model was built.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eUpon annual review of a country’s model, we may release an updated model. Just as we updated the U.S. model one year after launching, today we’re also updating the Australia and New Zealand models. We’ve retrained these models with an additional year of surveillance data and they should better reflect current activity levels.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eYou can also see \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.google.org/flutrends/GoogleFluTrends.kmz\"\u003eanimated Google Flu Trends for the world\u003c/a\u003e in the Google Earth layer now also available on the website. This video visualizes flu activity over the last two years in North America and Europe:\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cobject width\u003d\"560\" height\u003d\"340\"\u003e\u003cparam name\u003d\"movie\" value\u003d\"http://www.youtube.com/v/cOBi_6x35BQ\u0026hl\u003den_US\u0026fs\u003d1\u0026\"\u003e\u003c/param\u003e\u003cparam name\u003d\"allowFullScreen\" value\u003d\"true\"\u003e\u003c/param\u003e\u003cparam name\u003d\"allowscriptaccess\" value\u003d\"always\"\u003e\u003c/param\u003e\u003cembed src\u003d\"http://www.youtube.com/v/cOBi_6x35BQ\u0026hl\u003den_US\u0026fs\u003d1\u0026\" type\u003d\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" allowscriptaccess\u003d\"always\" allowfullscreen\u003d\"true\" width\u003d\"560\" height\u003d\"340\"\u003e\u003c/embed\u003e\u003c/object\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eCheck out flu activity in your area and stay healthy!\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"byline-author\"\u003ePosted by Corrie Conrad, Google.org\u003c/span\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4164790564632732056-3999621953068038715?l\u003dblog.google.org' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/3999621953068038715"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/3999621953068038715"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://blog.google.org/2010/06/its-flu-oclock-somewhere.html","title":"It’s flu o’clock somewhere"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Jamie Yood"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/00055778979957613057"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"14118214607831869425"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Qw6iwZD4gMQ/TA5cC0j1tCI/AAAAAAAABDY/M-9sLyfak10/s72-c/ceara_09and10.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164790564632732056.post-4881213096480401965"},"published":{"$t":"2010-05-26T14:20:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2010-05-26T17:28:12.094-07:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Watch the Gulf oil spill live on YouTube and submit your ideas on how to stop it"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\"  style\u003d\"font-size:small;\"\u003e(Cross-posted from \u003c/span\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://youtube-global.blogspot.com/2010/05/watch-gulf-oil-spill-live-on-youtube.html\"\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\"  style\u003d\"font-size:small;\"\u003eThe Official YouTube Blog\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\"  style\u003d\"font-size:small;\"\u003e)\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eSince the BP oil spill occurred in the Gulf of Mexico, over six million gallons of oil have poured into the water. Now you can see what’s happening firsthand on YouTube, through a live stream of the leak on \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.youtube.com/pbsnewshour\"\u003ePBS NewsHour’s YouTube channel\u003c/a\u003e. Today, BP will begin their “top kill” procedure, which will attempt to drill mud into the well to block the flowing oil. Thanks to the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://globalwarming.house.gov/mediacenter/pressreleases_2008?id\u003d0254#main_content\"\u003eurging of Congress\u003c/a\u003e, you’ll be able to witness the entire process in real-time on YouTube.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eNow that you can see what’s going on, PBS and YouTube want you to \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.youtube.com/pbsnewshour\"\u003esubmit your best ideas\u003c/a\u003e, via Google Moderator, on how to stop this environmental catastrophe. PBS NewsHour will air some of the top YouTube submissions in their broadcast tomorrow evening and online:\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cobject width\u003d\"560\" height\u003d\"340\"\u003e\u003cparam name\u003d\"movie\" value\u003d\"http://www.youtube.com/v/-ix5dPPTprU\u0026amp;hl\u003den_US\u0026amp;fs\u003d1\u0026amp;\"\u003e\u003cparam name\u003d\"allowFullScreen\" value\u003d\"true\"\u003e\u003cparam name\u003d\"allowscriptaccess\" value\u003d\"always\"\u003e\u003cembed src\u003d\"http://www.youtube.com/v/-ix5dPPTprU\u0026amp;hl\u003den_US\u0026amp;fs\u003d1\u0026amp;\" type\u003d\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" allowscriptaccess\u003d\"always\" allowfullscreen\u003d\"true\" width\u003d\"560\" height\u003d\"340\"\u003e\u003c/embed\u003e\u003c/object\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eMany of you have already come up with creative solutions on how to stop the leak or clean up the spill, and you’re using video to make these ideas come to life. Here are a few innovative examples:\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cobject width\u003d\"480\" height\u003d\"385\"\u003e\u003cparam name\u003d\"movie\" value\u003d\"http://www.youtube.com/v/503uytc_-q8\u0026hl\u003den_US\u0026fs\u003d1\u0026\"\u003e\u003c/param\u003e\u003cparam name\u003d\"allowFullScreen\" value\u003d\"true\"\u003e\u003c/param\u003e\u003cparam name\u003d\"allowscriptaccess\" value\u003d\"always\"\u003e\u003c/param\u003e\u003cembed src\u003d\"http://www.youtube.com/v/503uytc_-q8\u0026hl\u003den_US\u0026fs\u003d1\u0026\" type\u003d\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" allowscriptaccess\u003d\"always\" allowfullscreen\u003d\"true\" width\u003d\"480\" height\u003d\"385\"\u003e\u003c/embed\u003e\u003c/object\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eTune in to the live stream \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.youtube.com/pbsnewshour\"\u003ehere\u003c/a\u003e, and if you have ideas you think BP should hear, submit them before 5 p.m. (ET) tomorrow.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"byline-author\"\u003ePosted by Ramya Raghavan, Nonprofits \u0026amp; Activism Manager, YouTube\u003c/span\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4164790564632732056-4881213096480401965?l\u003dblog.google.org' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/4881213096480401965"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/4881213096480401965"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://blog.google.org/2010/05/watch-gulf-oil-spill-live-on-youtube.html","title":"Watch the Gulf oil spill live on YouTube and submit your ideas on how to stop it"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Jamie Yood"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/00055778979957613057"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"14118214607831869425"}}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164790564632732056.post-6495595618954530658"},"published":{"$t":"2010-05-24T08:59:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2010-05-24T09:08:47.194-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"PowerMeter"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Green"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Largest supplier of energy monitors now compatible with Google PowerMeter"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"Today we are excited to offer a new way for many more people to access Google PowerMeter: our new Featured Device partner \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.currentcost.com/\"\u003eCurrent Cost\u003c/a\u003e - the largest global supplier of real time displays for monitoring energy use.  Having already sold one million energy monitoring devices, Current Cost \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.currentcost.com/powermeter/\"\u003ewill now offer devices\u003c/a\u003e that are compatible with Google PowerMeter.  They will also offer upgrades to existing customers so that they too can monitor their energy consumption anywhere online with our software.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eDevices that integrate with Google PowerMeter will first be available in North America, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.  Current Cost uses the Google PowerMeter API that \u003ca href\u003d\"http://blog.google.org/2010/03/google-powermeter-api-introduced-for.html\"\u003ewe released back in March\u003c/a\u003e and \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.google.com/powermeter/about/partners.html\"\u003ejoins others\u003c/a\u003e as a Featured Device partner that allows customers to understand their energy use.  Our partnership is another example of hardware meeting our software to help customers save energy and money.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.eon-uk.com/\"\u003eE.ON\u003c/a\u003e, one of the UK’s largest utilities, has also teamed up with Current Cost to offer its customers a Google PowerMeter compatible energy monitor as part of its free “\u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.eon-uk.com/media/energyfit.aspx\"\u003eEnergy Fit Starter Pack\u003c/a\u003e.”\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eCurrent Cost estimates that their customers have already saved close to 400,000 tons of CO2 through monitoring their electricity use.  One Australian restaurant \u003ca href\u003d\"http://smartnowenvironmental.blogspot.com/2010/05/turn-off-your-coffee-machines.html\"\u003erecently learned\u003c/a\u003e that something as easy as turning off their coffee pots each night would save them $3,000 dollars per year.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eCurious how you can start saving?  \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.google.com/powermeter/about/get-powermeter.html\"\u003eSign up\u003c/a\u003e for Google PowerMeter today.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"byline-author\"\u003ePosted by Scott Coleman, Partnership Development Manager, Google.org\u003c/span\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4164790564632732056-6495595618954530658?l\u003dblog.google.org' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/6495595618954530658"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/6495595618954530658"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://blog.google.org/2010/05/largest-supplier-of-energy-monitors-now.html","title":"Largest supplier of energy monitors now compatible with Google PowerMeter"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Jamie Yood"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/00055778979957613057"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"14118214607831869425"}}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164790564632732056.post-6922506069258803817"},"published":{"$t":"2010-05-18T20:26:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2010-05-18T20:50:17.876-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Flu Trends"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Researching with Google Flu Trends"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"When creating \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.google.org/flutrends/\"\u003eGoogle Flu Trends\u003c/a\u003e, we decided early on to make all of our estimates of flu activity available to the public \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.google.org/flutrends/data.txt\"\u003efor download\u003c/a\u003e. We’re always excited to hear about researchers using this data and recently learned about a \u003ca href\u003d\"http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2010/05/17/google-flu-trends-good-at-suggesting-not-pinpointing-flu-cases/\"\u003estudy\u003c/a\u003e which compares Google Flu Trends estimates of flu activity with estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eAlmost any public health expert will tell you that there isn’t a single perfect measure of flu activity. Instead, there are \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/fluactivity.htm\"\u003eseveral good measures\u003c/a\u003e, each of which tells a slightly different story. A good picture of flu activity emerges when these stories are examined together. One such measure is the CDC’s influenza-like illness surveillance network (ILINet) which shows the proportion of people who visit a physician with flu-like symptoms such as fever, cough and sore throat. This network can highlight areas where activity is unusually high given the time of year but cannot provide insight into the specific pathogens which are causing the illness. Another is the CDC’s Virologic Surveillance which shows the proportion of people who visit a physician, get tested, and have lab-confirmed influenza. This network shows the specific strains of influenza in circulation but can be affected by changes in testing practices, making it difficult to interpret the data over long periods of time.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eWe collaborated with the CDC when designing Google Flu Trends and decided to build a system that would make estimates based on the CDC’s ILINet data. Historically, we’ve shown a strong correlation with CDC’s ILINet data, typically with a correlation of greater than 0.9 (or more than 90% accurate as compared with CDC’s ILINet data). This recent study shows that Google Flu Trends is 72% accurate as compared with CDC's Virologic Surveillance data. This doesn't come as much of a surprise since the virologic data is telling a different story than the ILInet data. However, it’s good to see research showing the differences in these measures, as it highlights the need for multiple networks to exist.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eWe provide Google Flu Trends as an additional source of information for helping to understand the flu season. Google Flu Trends helps paint the picture of flu activity by providing estimates daily while some traditional flu surveillance systems can take days or weeks to collect and release data.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"byline-author\"\u003ePosted by Matt Mohebbi, Software Engineer\u003c/span\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4164790564632732056-6922506069258803817?l\u003dblog.google.org' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/6922506069258803817"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/6922506069258803817"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://blog.google.org/2010/05/researching-with-google-flu-trends.html","title":"Researching with Google Flu Trends"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Jamie Yood"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/00055778979957613057"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"14118214607831869425"}}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164790564632732056.post-6143332176142855750"},"published":{"$t":"2010-04-15T09:55:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2010-04-15T09:59:52.140-07:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Response to China Earthquake"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"(Translated from the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://googlechinablog.blogspot.com/2010/04/blog-post_15.html\"\u003eGoogle China Blog\u003c/a\u003e)\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eYesterday, when a powerful earthquake struck the Qinghai province in Western China, Googlers within China and internationally mobilized to see how we could help with disaster response.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eWe are working on several tools to help people on the ground find out more information about the earthquake, connect with loved ones, as well as help with recovery efforts.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eFor those concerned about loved ones in Qinghai, the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://chinapersonfinder.appspot.com/\"\u003eChina Person Finder\u003c/a\u003e tool can be used to submit or search for information about individuals who may have been affected. The tool is available in Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese and English. We encourage organizations and media sites to embed the gadget on their sites and help spread the word.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eIn addition, users can access earthquake information on Google News and Google Maps from a link on our homepages on \u003ca href\u003d\"http://google.com.hk/\"\u003egoogle.com.hk\u003c/a\u003e, and \u003ca href\u003d\"http://google.com.tw/\"\u003egoogle.com.tw\u003c/a\u003e. The site also includes links to real-time search information, which includes people’s posts to Twitter and other sources.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eWe will keep posting updates to the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://googlechinablog.blogspot.com/\"\u003eGoogle China blog\u003c/a\u003e as more information and tools become available. Please visit \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.google.com/relief/qinghaiearthquake/\"\u003ethis page\u003c/a\u003e for updated resources.\u003cspan class\u003d\"byline-author\"\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4164790564632732056-6143332176142855750?l\u003dblog.google.org' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/6143332176142855750"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/6143332176142855750"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://blog.google.org/2010/04/response-to-china-earthquake.html","title":"Response to China Earthquake"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Jamie Yood"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/00055778979957613057"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"14118214607831869425"}}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164790564632732056.post-6498772689920655797"},"published":{"$t":"2010-04-05T07:59:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2010-04-05T08:21:55.985-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"PowerMeter"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Green"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Powering consumers with information about their energy use"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:85%;\"\u003e(Cross-posted from the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://googlepublicpolicy.blogspot.com/2010/04/powering-consumers-with-information.html\"\u003eGoogle Public Policy Blog\u003c/a\u003e)\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eWe all receive an electricity bill once a month that is hard to decipher besides the total amount due. What if we instead had access to \u003ca href\u003d\"http://googlepublicpolicy.blogspot.com/2009/08/vast-potential-of-energy-efficiency.html\"\u003emore useful and actionable information\u003c/a\u003e about our energy consumption?  What if consumers could use this information to automatically adjust appliances, lights, and other equipment to save money and cut energy use?\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eThat’s what a group of over 45 major companies and organizations said today in a \u003ca href\u003d\"https://sites.google.com/site/obamaenergyletter/home/AlettertoPresidentObamaApril5%2C2010.pdf?attredirects\u003d0\u0026amp;d\u003d1\"\u003eletter to President Obama\u003c/a\u003e. Signers include companies like AT\u0026amp;T, General Electric and Intel and NGOs like The Climate Group, NRDC and the Alliance to Save Energy. The group also includes start ups, smart grid companies, venture firms and trade organizations.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eThis diverse group shares a common vision: giving consumers the ability to monitor and manage their power use will save them energy and money. It will also unleash innovation in homes and businesses as new energy saving technologies and apps are developed.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eThis group will continue to look for ways to offer ideas to policymakers on how to empower consumers with energy saving tools and information. \u003ca href\u003d\"http://googlepublicpolicy.blogspot.com/2010/04/join-us-this-coming-tuesday-to-discuss.html\"\u003eJoin the discussion tomorrow\u003c/a\u003e at an event in Washington, DC co-hosted by Google and The Climate Group. If you can make it, RSVP \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.google.com/powermeter/about/google-climategroupevent.html\"\u003ehere\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"byline-author\"\u003ePosted by Michael Terrell, Energy Policy Counsel\u003c/span\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4164790564632732056-6498772689920655797?l\u003dblog.google.org' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/6498772689920655797"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/6498772689920655797"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://blog.google.org/2010/04/powering-consumers-with-information.html","title":"Powering consumers with information about their energy use"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Jamie Yood"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/00055778979957613057"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"14118214607831869425"}}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164790564632732056.post-5685814799236494134"},"published":{"$t":"2010-04-02T12:22:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2010-04-02T14:22:13.058-07:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Liberia: A Country in Transition"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"The international community likes to define Liberia’s recent history primarily through two events: its fourteen-year civil war, which ended in 2003, and the work of the country’s president, \u003ca href\u003d\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellen_Johnson_Sirleaf\"\u003eEllen Johnson Sirleaf\u003c/a\u003e, the first democratically elected female leader in Africa.  The \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.google.com/publicdata?ds\u003dwb-wdi\u0026amp;met\u003dny_gdp_mktp_cd\u0026amp;idim\u003dcountry:LBR\u0026amp;dl\u003den\u0026amp;hl\u003den\u0026amp;q\u003dliberian+gdp\"\u003echart below\u003c/a\u003e illustrates both.  On my recent trip to Liberia, first with a group of Bay Area philanthropists hosted by the government and then as part of a small group of Googlers on a country visit, I learned more about how terrible the 1980s and 90s were in this small West African nation.  GDP -- a crude measure of the health of a nation, but an indicator nonetheless -- dropped 90% as the country endured brutal dictatorship after brutal dictatorship.  That decline is the largest in any nation since World War II, and nearly twice the percentage drop that Rwanda, Zimbabwe, and other states experienced during their crises.  The good news is that although Liberia essentially had no economy at the depths of the war, GDP has almost risen to pre-conflict levels during Johnson Sirleaf’s tenure, and foreign direct investment has returned.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca onblur\u003d\"try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" href\u003d\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Qw6iwZD4gMQ/S7ZFJzDRIZI/AAAAAAAABC0/31kVy045fbo/s1600/Picture+1.png\"\u003e\u003cimg style\u003d\"margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 232px;\" src\u003d\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Qw6iwZD4gMQ/S7ZFJzDRIZI/AAAAAAAABC0/31kVy045fbo/s400/Picture+1.png\" alt\u003d\"\" id\u003d\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5455624033230987666\" border\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eThe numbers also tell a third story. Throughout the 1960s and 70s Liberia’s economy grew at a steady pace in a way that most other African economies did not.  The growth was inequitable -- but real -- and the ingenuity and entrepreneurship that drove it are on full display today, albeit in ways that can sometimes puzzle a visitor to the country.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eDuring the ten days I was in Liberia my colleagues and I always had a driver; it’s the only way for foreigners to get around.  The first day we reserved our car for 9:00am but when I looked out the hotel window at 9:02am I noticed the car speeding off with three other passengers.  When I frantically called the driver he responded, “My man, don’t worry -- I will get you to your meeting on time.”  And he did.  Then there was the night a local friend suggested dinner by saying, “Come on -- this place has a nice outdoor patio at the base of Sniper Hill. . . wait, that didn’t quite sound as inviting as I meant it.”  When we arrived our waiter was Frankie, a cheerful eight-year old sporting an Alex Rodriguez Yankees jersey who delivered our food and drink on the jog.  At the local family restaurant, everyone pitched in.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eLike most of Africa, cell phones are ubiquitous in Liberia and are the technology of choice for the vast majority of the population.  Our meetings with the mobile providers there could have taken place anywhere in the world.  They’re making money but are fiercely competitive with one another, slashing prices and offering new products to gain market share, and desperately trying to expand into new markets like broadband.  Their activities are far from philanthropic, but they’re arguably having a more positive affect on Liberians’ day-to-day life than any other segment of society.  The mobile penetration rate is 40% and rising, particularly in rural areas where phones are often the first “big” purchase a Liberian will make.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eThe country’s trademark ingenuity is of course noticeable here as well.  Liberians will often carry SIM cards from different mobile carriers and switch back and forth depending on coverage and prices (a noticeably nice option that’s not available in the locked-down U.S. market).  Since unanswered calls don’t incur a charge and the person who initiates the call pays more than the receiver, Liberians will also occasionally call and hang up, meaning, “I want talk to you but you can afford this more than I can, so call me back.”  Scratch cards, which give you twenty or thirty minutes of talk time, are practically used as cash and are sold virtually everywhere.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eThe past thirty years have been difficult ones for most Liberians, and with an 80% unemployment rate and known war criminals still occupying high government offices, there are still huge problems to address.  In the next two years the country will hold elections and most of the UN peacekeepers will withdraw.  Watch closely: if both go well, a stable Liberia may finally be back.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"byline-author\"\u003ePosted by John Lyman, Google.org\u003c/span\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4164790564632732056-5685814799236494134?l\u003dblog.google.org' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/5685814799236494134"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/5685814799236494134"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://blog.google.org/2010/04/liberia-country-in-transition.html","title":"Liberia: A Country in Transition"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Jamie Yood"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/00055778979957613057"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"14118214607831869425"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Qw6iwZD4gMQ/S7ZFJzDRIZI/AAAAAAAABC0/31kVy045fbo/s72-c/Picture+1.png","height":"72","width":"72"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164790564632732056.post-8117183539079470227"},"published":{"$t":"2010-03-31T13:58:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2010-03-31T14:13:08.217-07:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Gooey Googley Energy"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"We appreciate TechCrunch’s \u003ca href\u003d\"http://techcrunch.com/2010/03/31/exclusive-google-to-go-nuclear/\"\u003eearly April Fool’s story\u003c/a\u003e but have no comment at this time other than to say that this has nothing to do with our exploration of marshmallows as an alternative energy source.  They work for kids; why not for data centers too?\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"byline-author\"\u003ePosted by Jamie Yood, Team Lead, Project Puffed\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4164790564632732056-8117183539079470227?l\u003dblog.google.org' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/8117183539079470227"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/8117183539079470227"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://blog.google.org/2010/03/gooey-googley-energy.html","title":"Gooey Googley Energy"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Niki Fenwick"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/13881152948934232359"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"01841543334805306329"}}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164790564632732056.post-3165709461666862145"},"published":{"$t":"2010-03-23T15:07:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2010-03-23T16:38:26.222-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"PowerMeter"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Green"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Easing the development of Google PowerMeter compatible devices"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"At Google, we are encouraged to experiment and tinker to see if there is a better way of doing things.  We want to encourage others in the energy monitoring space to do the same. To this end, I'd like to introduce our most recent strategic partner \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.microchip.com/googlepowermeter\"\u003eMicrochip\u003c/a\u003e, which is a supplier of cost-effective, innovative products for the embedded developer.  Today, Microchip will include as part of their developer demonstration environment the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://code.google.com/apis/powermeter/\"\u003eGoogle PowerMeter API\u003c/a\u003e library that we \u003ca href\u003d\"http://googlecode.blogspot.com/2010/03/google-powermeter-api-introduced-for.html\"\u003erecently announced\u003c/a\u003e.  This integration will make it much easier to create devices compatible with Google PowerMeter which means one can more quickly go from concept to demo to product.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eThe Google PowerMeter API is designed to work with a variety of energy monitoring devices - from utilities with smart meters, back haul networks and enterprise scale meter data management systems - to small embedded consumer devices that can send energy information directly to Google PowerMeter.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eGoogle's belief in open source also means that the Google PowerMeter API library is available to everyone under the Apache 2.0 license.  Embedded developers, tinkerers and makers are welcome to explore the code and use it in their products.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eAs we search for clean energy alternatives, it is important that everyone - from utilities to garage inventors - get a chance to try out new technologies and methods so that we all benefit from their inspirations.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"byline-author\"\u003ePosted by Charles Spirakis, Google Software Engineer\u003c/span\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4164790564632732056-3165709461666862145?l\u003dblog.google.org' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/3165709461666862145"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/3165709461666862145"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://blog.google.org/2010/03/easing-development-of-google-powermeter.html","title":"Easing the development of Google PowerMeter compatible devices"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Jamie Yood"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/00055778979957613057"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"14118214607831869425"}}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164790564632732056.post-4262126417794005132"},"published":{"$t":"2010-03-15T17:41:00.000-07:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2010-03-15T17:46:44.978-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"PowerMeter"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Green"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Share your Power(Meter)!"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"Google PowerMeter now gives you the ability to share your data with others.  What does this mean?  Everyone in your household can now activate Google PowerMeter on her own personalized iGoogle page so families and roommates can all track their energy consumption online together. \u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eYou can also share your data with friends or other Google PowerMeter users to get advice on your usage, compare trends or even strike up a friendly competition to see who can save the most.  After all, how can you keep up with your friends, the Joneses, when you don't know \u003ca href\u003d\"http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/22/utilities-finding-peer-pressure-a-powerful-motivator/\"\u003ehow much they are consuming\u003c/a\u003e?\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eMembers of the Google PowerMeter team routinely compare their energy usage data and share energy saving tips and suggestions with one another.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eFor instance, by comparing his PowerMeter data with his friend's data during a heat wave, a fellow Googler discovered that his home air-conditioning system was consuming much more energy than his friend's system.  The friend lives in the same area and in a similar sized house.  By sharing this data, the Googler found out that his air conditioner was malfunctioning, and after making the necessary repairs, was able to reduce the amount he spends on electricity for air conditioning.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eAll sharing is completely opt-in and \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.google.com/powermeter/privacy\"\u003eyour privacy\u003c/a\u003e will still be protected.  If you are already a Google PowerMeter user, please visit our \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.google.com/support/powermeter/bin/answer.py?hl\u003den\u0026amp;answer\u003d176903\"\u003ehelp center\u003c/a\u003e to get started.  Don't have Google PowerMeter yet?  Visit \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.google.com/powermeter\"\u003eour website\u003c/a\u003e to see how you can get it. \u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eWe hope that this feature sparks some interesting energy-related conversations between you and your friends!\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"byline-author\"\u003ePosted by Danan Sudindranath, Google Software Engineer\u003c/span\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4164790564632732056-4262126417794005132?l\u003dblog.google.org' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/4262126417794005132"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/4262126417794005132"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://blog.google.org/2010/03/share-your-powermeter.html","title":"Share your Power(Meter)!"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Jamie Yood"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/00055778979957613057"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"14118214607831869425"}}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164790564632732056.post-64947420636138428"},"published":{"$t":"2010-03-08T10:56:00.000-08:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2010-03-08T10:56:59.068-08:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"An update on Google.org and philanthropy @ Google"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:85%;\"\u003e(Cross-posted from the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/update-on-googleorg-and-philanthropy.html\"\u003eOfficial Google Blog\u003c/a\u003e)\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eWhat do tracking flu, helping consumers monitor their home electricity use, slowing deforestation and, perhaps most importantly in 2010, helping the people of Haiti have in common?\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eWhile they are all part of the wide-ranging work of \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.google.org/\"\u003eGoogle.org\u003c/a\u003e over the last year, they also show what our technical teams can accomplish in critical areas that don't always get the attention they need and deserve.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eA year ago we outlined our goals for the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/02/next-chapter-for-googleorg.html\"\u003enext chapter for Google.org\u003c/a\u003e. We talked about our vision to use strengths of Google in information and technology to build products and advocate for critical policies that address global challenges.  Ideas for projects continue to pour in from Googlers and partners around the globe, and we're incubating several new projects in the areas of economic development, clean energy and access to technology.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eThis past year, we:\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cul\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/energized-about-our-first-google.html\"\u003eRamped up\u003c/a\u003e \u003ca style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\" href\u003d\"http://www.google.com/powermeter\"\u003eGoogle PowerMeter\u003c/a\u003e to help consumers reduce their electricity use and save money, secured utility and \u003ca href\u003d\"http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/google-powermeters-first-device-partner.html\"\u003edevice partners\u003c/a\u003e, and launched the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://googlecode.blogspot.com/2010/03/google-powermeter-api-introduced-for.html\"\u003eAPI\u003c/a\u003e on code.google.com to help expand partner access globally.\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003eIntroduced \u003ca style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\" href\u003d\"http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/seeing-forest-through-cloud.html\"\u003eEarth Engine\u003c/a\u003e, a new computational platform we have begun building for global-scale analysis of satellite imagery to monitor changes in key environmental indicators like forest coverage, at \u003ca href\u003d\"http://blog.google.org/2009/12/earth-engine-powered-by-google.html\"\u003eCOP15\u003c/a\u003e in December.\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003eQuickly expanded \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.google.org/flutrends/\"\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003eGoogle Flu Trends\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e to \u003ca href\u003d\"http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/google-flu-trends-expands-to-16.html\"\u003e20 countries and 38 languages\u003c/a\u003e as the H1N1 flu virus spread around the world. We also added city-level flu estimates to \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.google.org/flutrends/us/#cities\"\u003e121 U.S. cities\u003c/a\u003e and developed the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.google.com/flushot\"\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003eFlu Shot Finder\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e to help people find vaccine locations.\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003eResponded to earthquakes in \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.google.com/relief/haitiearthquake/\"\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003eHaiti\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e and \u003ca style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\" href\u003d\"http://www.google.com/relief/chileearthquake/\"\u003eChile\u003c/a\u003e, with maps, updated earth imagery, and networking projects, and built \u003ca style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\" href\u003d\"http://chilepersonfinder.appspot.com/\"\u003ePerson Finder\u003c/a\u003e to help people find information about their loved ones after a disaster.\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction\u003dFiles.View\u0026amp;FileStore_id\u003d8d3195f8-9107-4fb0-86ca-51d9c5fbca46\"\u003eAdvocated for policies\u003c/a\u003e to spur innovation of renewable energy technologies that are cheaper than coal (\u003ca style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\" href\u003d\"http://www.google.org/rec.html\"\u003eRE\u0026lt;C\u003c/a\u003e), and our engineers worked on ways to reduce the cost of solar thermal and other RE\u0026lt;C technologies.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ul\u003eWe will continue to greenlight large scale engineering projects that build on Google's strengths in technology, our computing infrastructure and global teams.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eOverall, our \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.google.org/googlers.html\"\u003ephilanthropic mission at Google\u003c/a\u003e includes our Google.org projects and a range of other initiatives - from grants, scholarships and other charitable giving programs to in-kind product support for non-profits. Our founders have \u003ca href\u003d\"http://investor.google.com/ipo_letter.html\"\u003eset a goal\u003c/a\u003e of devoting approximately 1% of Google's equity and yearly profits to philanthropy. In 2009, we devoted around $100 million plus in-kind giving to a broad range of philanthropic efforts.  Here are some highlights:\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cul\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003eAcademic scholarships and awards\u003c/span\u003e:  We provide \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.google.com/jobs/students/us/scholarships/\"\u003escholarships\u003c/a\u003e to encourage students of various backgrounds, ethnicities and gender to excel in their studies in hopes that these and other \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.google.com/corporate/diversity/students.html\"\u003eprograms\u003c/a\u003e will help dismantle barriers that keep women and minorities from entering computing and technology fields.\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003eAcademic grants\u003c/span\u003e: We support the next generation of engineers and maintain strong ties with academic institutions worldwide that are pursuing research in core areas relevant to our mission. We \u003ca href\u003d\"http://research.google.com/university/relations/research_awards.html\"\u003efund projects\u003c/a\u003e across a variety of subjects, host visiting faculty members at Google, and have launched the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://research.google.com/university/relations/phd_fellowships.html\"\u003eGoogle Fellowship Program\u003c/a\u003e to fund graduate students doing innovative research in several fields.\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003eHoliday charitable gift\u003c/span\u003e: We made $22 million in donations in 2009 to a couple of dozen deserving charities around the world to help organizations that have been stretched thin by more requests for help in a year of fewer donations.\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003eEmployee gift matching\u003c/span\u003e: Google matches up to $6,000 for each employee's annual charitable contributions and contributes $50 for every five hours an employee volunteers through our \"Dollars for Doers\" program to encourage employee participation in charitable causes.\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003eCharitable Giving Council\u003c/span\u003e: We support grants for Googler-led partnerships on causes such as K-12 educational initiatives in science, math and technology.\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003eCommunity affairs\u003c/span\u003e: We invest in communities where Google has a presence around the world, creating opportunities for Googlers to invest time and expertise, engage in local grant making and build partnerships with local stakeholders.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ul\u003eIn addition, our \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.google.com/nonprofits/\"\u003eGoogle for Non-Profits\u003c/a\u003e site provides information and links to free tools to help charitable groups promote their cause, raise money, collaborate with others and operate more efficiently. \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.google.com/nonprofits/grantstutorial.html\"\u003eGoogle Grants\u003c/a\u003e, for example, offers in-kind AdWords advertising to non-profit organizations. Since the program began, we've donated over $625 million worth of AdWords advertising to all kinds of charitable organizations.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eTo keep up with our activities, check out the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://blog.google.org/\"\u003eGoogle.org blog\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003ePosted by Megan Smith, VP and General Manager, Google.org\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4164790564632732056-64947420636138428?l\u003dblog.google.org' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/64947420636138428"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/64947420636138428"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://blog.google.org/2010/03/update-on-googleorg-and-philanthropy.html","title":"An update on Google.org and philanthropy @ Google"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Jamie Yood"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/00055778979957613057"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"14118214607831869425"}}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164790564632732056.post-6494116853708237901"},"published":{"$t":"2010-03-03T09:55:00.000-08:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2010-03-03T10:01:14.184-08:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"PowerMeter"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Green"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Google PowerMeter API introduced for device manufacturers"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:85%;\"\u003e(Cross-posted from \u003ca href\u003d\"http://googlecode.blogspot.com/2010/03/google-powermeter-api-introduced-for.html\"\u003eGoogle Code Blog\u003c/a\u003e)\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eToday we're excited to introduce the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://code.google.com/apis/powermeter/\"\u003eGoogle PowerMeter API\u003c/a\u003e on code.google.com, for developers interested in integrating with \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.google.org/powermeter\"\u003eGoogle PowerMeter\u003c/a\u003e. This API will allow device manufacturers to build home energy monitoring devices that work with Google PowerMeter.  We're launching this API in order to help build the ecosystem of innovative developers working towards making energy information more widely available to consumers.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eIn today's launch of the API on code.google.com we are highlighting the core design principles towards integrating with Google PowerMeter. In particular we outline the underlying data model and the accompanying protocols to ensure that Google PowerMeter provides consumers access to their energy consumption with utmost care in maintaining the user's \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.google.com/powermeter/privacy\"\u003eprivacy and control on access to the information\u003c/a\u003e. We also highlight, with code samples and client implementations, how to easily start building your PowerMeter-compatible device.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eTune into \u003ca href\u003d\"http://blog.google.org/search/label/PowerMeter\"\u003eour blog\u003c/a\u003e and subscribe to our \u003ca href\u003d\"http://groups.google.com/group/google-powermeter-api-notify\"\u003enotification list\u003c/a\u003e for announcements on upcoming developments. We are thrilled to bring together a rich framework to help more developers integrate with Google PowerMeter with our open, standards-based API.  We are looking to expose expanded features of this framework to the developer community in the coming months.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eFinally, we want your feedback! Ask questions, suggest topics, and share your stories. You can do this at the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/powermeter/label?lid\u003d4a16578cadb5db81\u0026amp;hl\u003den\"\u003eDeveloper Lounge\u003c/a\u003e section of the Google PowerMeter forum.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eWe hope you join us for the ride ahead.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"byline-author\"\u003ePosted by Srikanth Rajagopalan, Product Manager\u003c/span\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4164790564632732056-6494116853708237901?l\u003dblog.google.org' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/6494116853708237901"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/6494116853708237901"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://blog.google.org/2010/03/google-powermeter-api-introduced-for.html","title":"Google PowerMeter API introduced for device manufacturers"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Jamie Yood"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/00055778979957613057"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"14118214607831869425"}}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164790564632732056.post-9146146681475910036"},"published":{"$t":"2010-02-27T15:52:00.000-08:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2010-02-27T16:04:34.148-08:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Resources for Chile earthquake response"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-size: small;\"\u003e(Cross-posted from \u003c/span\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2010/02/resources-for-chile-earthquake-response.html\"\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-size: small;\"\u003eLatLong blog\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-size: small;\"\u003e)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/div\u003eAfter hearing of the devastatingly powerful 8.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Chile overnight, we began to mobilize several teams to see what Google resources could help with disaster response.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eGoogle Map Maker is currently available in Chile, and we are making this map data available for download by relief and aid organizations. Visit \u003ca href\u003d\"http://mapmaker.google.com/datadownload\"\u003ehttp://mapmaker.google.com/datadownload\u003c/a\u003e for more information and to access the data. If you have familiarity with the region, please help these efforts by \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.google.com/mapmaker?hl\u003den\u0026amp;q\u003d\u0026amp;gw\u003d30\u0026amp;ll\u003d-34.052659,-70.97168\u0026amp;spn\u003d20.330498,30.585937\u0026amp;z\u003d5\"\u003econtributing data about Chile\u003c/a\u003e on Google Map Maker. We will be refreshing the download data frequently to reflect the latest set of contributions.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eFor those concerned about loved ones in Chile, the Person Finder tool, initially created in the wake of the Haiti earthquake, can be used to submit or search for information about individuals who may have been affected. The Person Finder tool has been translated into Spanish and is currently available at \u003ca href\u003d\"http://chilepersonfinder.appspot.com/\"\u003ehttp://chilepersonfinder.appspot.com/\u003c/a\u003e, as well as several media sites and the US Department of State website. The gadget can easily be embedded on any site:\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cdiv style\u003d\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003ciframe src\u003d\"http://chilepersonfinder.appspot.com/?small\u003dyes\" width\u003d\"350\" height\u003d\"300\" frameborder\u003d\"0\" style\u003d\"border: dashed 2px #77c\"\u003e\u003c/iframe\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eThis My Map shows earthquake measurement data from the US Geological Survey to help give a better understanding of the areas most affected and the extent of the powerful aftershocks:\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cdiv style\u003d\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003ciframe width\u003d\"425\" height\u003d\"350\" frameborder\u003d\"0\" scrolling\u003d\"no\" marginheight\u003d\"0\" marginwidth\u003d\"0\" src\u003d\"http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie\u003dUTF8\u0026amp;hl\u003den\u0026amp;oe\u003dUTF8\u0026amp;t\u003dh\u0026amp;msa\u003d0\u0026amp;msid\u003d109096919332945877408.00048097b234a598da9f5\u0026amp;source\u003dembed\u0026amp;ll\u003d-35.245619,-72.46582\u0026amp;spn\u003d6.279088,9.338379\u0026amp;output\u003dembed\"\u003e\u003c/iframe\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\"  style\u003d\"font-size:100%;\"\u003e\u003cdiv style\u003d\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-size: small;\"\u003eView \u003c/span\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie\u003dUTF8\u0026amp;hl\u003den\u0026amp;oe\u003dUTF8\u0026amp;t\u003dh\u0026amp;msa\u003d0\u0026amp;msid\u003d109096919332945877408.00048097b234a598da9f5\u0026amp;source\u003dembed\u0026amp;ll\u003d-35.245619,-72.46582\u0026amp;spn\u003d6.279088,9.338379\"\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-size: small;\"\u003eChile Earthquake helpful information\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-size: small;\"\u003e in a larger map. This map will continue to be updated with additional information.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"Apple-style-span\" style\u003d\"font-size: 13px;\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eWe will be updating imagery, maps, and other information as they become available and will continue to post updates to this blog. An overview of resources available, latest news, and links to make a donation can be found on Google's Chile earthquake relief page at \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.google.com/relief/chileearthquake/\"\u003ehttp://www.google.com/relief/chileearthquake/\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"byline-author\"\u003ePosted by Jessica Pfund, Google Map Maker team\u003c/span\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4164790564632732056-9146146681475910036?l\u003dblog.google.org' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/9146146681475910036"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/9146146681475910036"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://blog.google.org/2010/02/resources-for-chile-earthquake-response.html","title":"Resources for Chile earthquake response"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Jamie Yood"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/00055778979957613057"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"14118214607831869425"}}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164790564632732056.post-7549723794437082303"},"published":{"$t":"2010-02-04T17:22:00.000-08:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2010-02-04T17:24:48.713-08:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Applications now open for the 2010-2011 Global Heath Corps"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"We are pleased to share with you that the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://ghcorps.org/\"\u003eGlobal Health Corps\u003c/a\u003e (GHC) is now accepting applications for their 2010-2011 class. GHC \u003ca href\u003d\"http://blog.google.org/2009/07/inaugural-class-of-global-health-corps.html\"\u003esent their inaugural class\u003c/a\u003e of 22 recent university graduates to complete year-long assignments in public health organizations in various countries.  This program came to fruition after discussions at the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.aids2031.org/\"\u003eaids2031\u003c/a\u003e conference hosted by Google.org in March 2008.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eGHC is a unique program that enhances a fellow's cultural experience by pairing cross cultural teams - one fellow from the host country and one international fellow.  Once accepted, all chosen fellows must complete a summer training course sponsored by \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.stanford.edu/\"\u003eStanford University\u003c/a\u003e. This year GHC has 32 open positions with locations ranging from Burundi, Rwanda, New Jersey, Malawi, and Massachusetts. We believe that Global Health Corps offers a unique experience that enables young professionals to gain valuable experience for strengthening global public health equity.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eThe American application deadline is set for March 1st while the deadline for in-country fellows is April 1st. Applicants must be under 30 years old, possess at least an undergraduate degree, and be proficient in English. Fellows wlll be chosen based on their skills that meet organization's assignment goals once they successfully complete GHC's intense interviewing, application and orientation process. Good luck!\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"byline-author\"\u003ePosted by Kataneh Sarvian, Google.org\u003c/span\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4164790564632732056-7549723794437082303?l\u003dblog.google.org' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/7549723794437082303"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/7549723794437082303"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://blog.google.org/2010/02/applications-now-open-for-2010-2011.html","title":"Applications now open for the 2010-2011 Global Heath Corps"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Jamie Yood"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/00055778979957613057"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"14118214607831869425"}}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164790564632732056.post-5872783566538067397"},"published":{"$t":"2010-02-02T14:10:00.000-08:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2010-02-02T14:21:06.595-08:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"PowerMeter"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Green"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"How much power do you use in the middle of the night?"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003cdiv\u003e\"Always On\" power is the lowest level of sustained power used during a day-long period. On our energy-monitoring software tool, \u003ca href\u003d\"http://google.org/powermeter\" id\u003d\"up33\" title\u003d\"Google PowerMeter\"\u003eGoogle PowerMeter\u003c/a\u003e, this shows up as a dark green bar on your power usage graph. We've found that American users, on average, have 589 watts of electrical power being consumed \u003cb\u003eall day long\u003c/b\u003e. What items are using all this electricity?\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e- \"Vampire loads\" - appliances that don't really turn off, even when you're not actively using them\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e-  Old appliances, especially refrigerators\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e-  Lights that are never turned off\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e-  Outdoor lights\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e-  Cable box or DVR\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e-  Computers that never turn off\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e-  Electric water heaters\u003c/div\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eHere's the good news: It's typically very easy to reduce your Always On power. Below is a graph of a household that did just that. This household started reducing electricity use by turning off their outdoor lighting (green period) instead of leaving the lights on all day (red period). That change reduced the average Always On from 420 watts to 300 watts. That 120 watt Always On reduction can yield hundreds of dollars in estimated savings over a single year!\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cdiv id\u003d\"or6o\" style\u003d\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg src\u003d\"https://docs.google.com/a/google.com/File?id\u003dahd8kxvk56_15kfbb9nc4_b\" style\u003d\"height: 202.884px; width: 648px;\" /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOn January 27, 2010, almost 40% of Google PowerMeter users had Always On levels at over 500 watts. If these users reduced that amount by just 100 watts each, that's a significant cumulative savings. (Look for more of these aggregate analyses of our data in the future as we continue to learn more about how people use electricity.) \u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cdiv id\u003d\"sdb-\" style\u003d\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg src\u003d\"https://docs.google.com/a/google.com/File?id\u003dahd8kxvk56_12dzrrtcdc_b\" style\u003d\"height: 669.862px; width: 648px;\" /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"byline-author\"\u003ePosted by Omar Khan, Software Engineer\u003c/span\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4164790564632732056-5872783566538067397?l\u003dblog.google.org' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/5872783566538067397"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/5872783566538067397"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://blog.google.org/2010/02/how-much-power-do-you-use-in-middle-of.html","title":"How much power do you use in the middle of the night?"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Niki Fenwick"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/13881152948934232359"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"01841543334805306329"}}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164790564632732056.post-4180225640183493110"},"published":{"$t":"2010-01-21T22:00:00.000-08:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2010-03-18T13:42:00.231-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"PowerMeter"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Green"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"FCC broadband plan to call for access to real-time energy info"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:85%;\"\u003e(Cross-posted from \u003ca href\u003d\"http://googlepublicpolicy.blogspot.com/2010/01/fcc-broadband-plan-to-call-for-access.html\"\u003ePublic Policy Blog\u003c/a\u003e)\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eOver the past six months we have been providing you with periodic updates and \u003ca href\u003d\"http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id\u003d7020040500\"\u003ecomments\u003c/a\u003e on the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.broadband.gov/\"\u003eFCC's National Broadband Plan\u003c/a\u003e, which is scheduled for release in mid-March. Earlier today FCC energy and environment director Nick Sinai gave a sneak preview of one of the Plan's key components: how broadband will facilitate smarter energy usage.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eHe \u003ca href\u003d\"http://blog.broadband.gov/?entryId\u003d111153\"\u003etold an audience\u003c/a\u003e at the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.cleantechsummit.com/\"\u003eClean-tech Investor Summit\u003c/a\u003e that the FCC will call on States and the Congress to give consumers and consumer-authorized third parties access to real-time energy information. This kind of information could have a huge financial and environmental impact. \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.eci.ox.ac.uk/research/energy/downloads/smart-metering-report.pdf\"\u003eStudies show\u003c/a\u003e that access to real-time usage data results in energy savings of up to 15%. He talked about how, combined with other measures, this information could create a platform that could lead to new products and services to help consumers manage energy. Picture it: a smart phone apps store for home energy management.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eSinai singled out for praise technologies like \"smart\" electricity meters and recent efforts in California to include consumer data access policies as part of a statewide smart meter roll out. (Learn more by reading \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.google.org/powermeter/cpuc.html\"\u003eGoogle's comments\u003c/a\u003e.) While encouraged by state-led initiatives like this, Sinai said if state efforts don't work, the FCC could recommend that Congress consider national energy data accessibility legislation.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"byline-author\"\u003ePosted by Michael Terrell, Energy Policy Counsel\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4164790564632732056-4180225640183493110?l\u003dblog.google.org' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/4180225640183493110"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/4180225640183493110"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://blog.google.org/2010/01/fcc-broadband-plan-to-call-for-access.html","title":"FCC broadband plan to call for access to real-time energy info"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Jamie Yood"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/00055778979957613057"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"14118214607831869425"}}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164790564632732056.post-7116941591647774891"},"published":{"$t":"2010-01-15T19:41:00.000-08:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2010-01-15T19:49:18.307-08:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Staying connected in post-earthquake Haiti"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:85%;\"\u003e(Cross-posted from the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/staying-connected-in-post-earthquake.html\"\u003eOfficial Google Blog\u003c/a\u003e)\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eWith relief efforts underway, many displaced Haitians and their friends and families around the world are deeply concerned about the safety and whereabouts of loved ones. In response to the Haitian earthquake, a team of Googlers worked with the U.S. Department of State to create an online People Finder gadget so that people can submit information about missing persons and to search the database.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cdiv style\u003d\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003ciframe src\u003d\"http://haiticrisis.appspot.com/?small\u003dyes\" style\u003d\"border: 2px dashed rgb(119, 119, 204);\" frameborder\u003d\"0\" height\u003d\"300\" width\u003d\"350\"\u003e\u003c/iframe\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eYou'll find this gadget on our \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.google.com/relief/haitiearthquake/\"\u003eHaiti earthquake response website\u003c/a\u003e as well as on the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.state.gov/p/wha/ci/ha/earthquake/index.htm\"\u003eState Department website\u003c/a\u003e. In order to prevent the proliferation of multiple missing persons databases (a big problem during Hurricane Katrina), we've made the People Finder gadget standards-based and easily embeddable on any website (\u003ca href\u003d\"http://haiticrisis.appspot.com/embed\"\u003esee here\u003c/a\u003e for instructions). The gadget is currently available in English, French and Creole.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eWe're also helping families in the U.S. stay connected with their loved ones in Haiti by offering free calls to Haiti for the next two weeks via Google Voice. If you don't have a Google Voice account already, request an invitation at \u003ca href\u003d\"https://www.google.com/accounts/ServiceLogin?passive\u003dtrue\u0026amp;service\u003dgrandcentral\u0026amp;ltmpl\u003dbluebar\u0026amp;continue\u003dhttps://www.google.com/voice/account/signin/%3Fprev%3D\u0026amp;gsessionid\u003djdYMVLho0_o9UTZxq-Sylw\"\u003ewww.google.com/voice\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eFor anyone interested in viewing updated imagery in Google Earth, we've now included GeoEye's shots from Wednesday in the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2009/02/new-in-google-earth-50-historical.html\"\u003eHistorical Imagery feature\u003c/a\u003e. Now you can view the imagery without downloading the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://mw1.google.com/mw-earth-vectordb/haiti/Haiti-Earthquake-nl.kml\"\u003eKML file\u003c/a\u003e and can use the time slider to easily compare the stark before-and-after images, such as those below. To help relief organizations, GeoEye has made professional-quality files of their recent satellite imagery of Haiti downloadable via our \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.google.com/relief/haitiearthquake/geoeye.html\"\u003eearthquake response website\u003c/a\u003e. We hope the imagery in this format will be valuable to GIS organizations and aid workers.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca onblur\u003d\"try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" href\u003d\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Qw6iwZD4gMQ/S1E2ufjaEGI/AAAAAAAABB4/qpKNQJi2OmU/s1600-h/haiti.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg style\u003d\"margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 389px;\" src\u003d\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Qw6iwZD4gMQ/S1E2ufjaEGI/AAAAAAAABB4/qpKNQJi2OmU/s400/haiti.jpg\" alt\u003d\"\" id\u003d\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427179198330048610\" border\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cdiv style\u003d\"text-align: center; font-style: italic;\"\u003e(Click to see full-size)\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eWe have also made \u003ca href\u003d\"http://mapmaker.google.com/datadownload\"\u003eHaiti Map Maker data\u003c/a\u003e publicly available for download for non-commercial use and attribution. Data can be used by relief workers to do things such as create offline maps, combine data sets and run analysis, all of which we hope will help with their efforts on the ground. Please help \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.google.com/mapmaker?hl\u003den\u0026amp;q\u003dHaiti\u0026amp;gw\u003d30\u0026amp;ll\u003d19.054427,-73.045971\u0026amp;spn\u003d2.886544,3.823242\u0026amp;z\u003d8\u0026amp;t\u003dh\"\u003eimprove Haiti maps\u003c/a\u003e with Google Map Maker.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eNews and user footage \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.youtube.com/citizentube\"\u003econtinues to roll\u003c/a\u003e into YouTube. Oxfam and the American Red Cross are even responding to donations by \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v\u003dzo6hfeHju4k\"\u003euploading videos\u003c/a\u003e that show viewers exactly where their contributions are making a difference.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"byline-author\"\u003ePosted by Jacquelline Fuller and Prem Ramaswami for the Google Crisis Response Team\u003c/span\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4164790564632732056-7116941591647774891?l\u003dblog.google.org' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/7116941591647774891"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/7116941591647774891"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://blog.google.org/2010/01/staying-connected-in-post-earthquake.html","title":"Staying connected in post-earthquake Haiti"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Jamie Yood"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/00055778979957613057"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"14118214607831869425"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Qw6iwZD4gMQ/S1E2ufjaEGI/AAAAAAAABB4/qpKNQJi2OmU/s72-c/haiti.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164790564632732056.post-8620397730755759992"},"published":{"$t":"2010-01-14T14:35:00.000-08:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2010-01-14T15:15:29.691-08:00"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Helping Haiti respond to the earthquake"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:85%;\"\u003e(Cross-posted from \u003ca href\u003d\"http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/posted-by-soandso-soandso-team.html\"\u003eOfficial Google Blog\u003c/a\u003e)\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eThese recent satellite images of Port-au-Prince, Haiti before and after Tuesday's earthquake dramatically show the devastation caused by magnitude 7.0 trembler. Here are before-and-after screenshots of the National Palace and an area of Port-au-Prince:\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca onblur\u003d\"try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" href\u003d\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Qw6iwZD4gMQ/S0-f5-6Zn2I/AAAAAAAABBw/4jEpWLiGGpo/s1600-h/dn34gwb_70dj38wmcc_b+%281%29.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg style\u003d\"margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 376px;\" src\u003d\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Qw6iwZD4gMQ/S0-f5-6Zn2I/AAAAAAAABBw/4jEpWLiGGpo/s400/dn34gwb_70dj38wmcc_b+%281%29.jpg\" alt\u003d\"\" id\u003d\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426731894494044002\" border\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cdiv style\u003d\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-style: italic;\"\u003eClick to see full-size\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eIn order to help the people of Haiti respond to this catastrophe, Google is donating $1 million to organizations on the ground that are rescuing those still trapped and providing clean water, food, medical care, shelter and support to those affected. We'd like to make it easy for anyone moved by the tragedy to respond as well, so we've included a link on our homepage to \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.google.com/relief/haitiearthquake/\"\u003einformation, resources and ways you can help\u003c/a\u003e, including information on how to donate to organizations including: \u003ca href\u003d\"https://secure2.convio.net/dri/site/Donation2?idb\u003d137039094\u0026amp;1170.donation\u003dform1\u0026amp;df_id\u003d1170\"\u003eDirect Relief\u003c/a\u003e, \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.yele.org/\"\u003eYele Haiti\u003c/a\u003e, \u003ca href\u003d\"https://donate.pih.org/page/contribute/haiti_earthquake?source\u003dearthquake\u0026amp;subsource\u003dhomepage\"\u003ePartners in Health\u003c/a\u003e, \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.redcross.org/portal/site/en/menuitem.1a019a978f421296e81ec89e43181aa0/?vgnextoid\u003da8712721ea326210VgnVCM10000089f0870aRCRD\"\u003eRed Cross\u003c/a\u003e, \u003ca href\u003d\"https://www.wfp.org/donate/haiti\"\u003eWorld Food Program\u003c/a\u003e, \u003ca href\u003d\"https://donate.mercycorps.org/donation.htm?DonorIntent\u003dHaiti+Earthquake\"\u003eMercy Corps\u003c/a\u003e, \u003ca href\u003d\"https://secure.savethechildren.org/01/web_e_haiti_earthquake_10\"\u003eSave the Children\u003c/a\u003e, \u003ca href\u003d\"https://app.etapestry.com/hosted/LambiFundofHaiti_1/OnlineGiving.html\"\u003eLambi Fund\u003c/a\u003e, \u003ca href\u003d\"https://donate.doctorswithoutborders.org/SSLPage.aspx?pid\u003d197\u0026amp;hbc\u003d1\u0026amp;source\u003dADR1001E1D01\"\u003eDoctors Without Borders\u003c/a\u003e, \u003ca href\u003d\"https://www.theirc.org/donate/donate-now-haiti\"\u003eThe International Rescue Committee\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eYou can also use the below buttons to donate to \u003ca href\u003d\"https://secure.unicefusa.org/site/Donation2?df_id\u003d6680\u0026amp;6680.donation\u003dform1\"\u003eUNICEF\u003c/a\u003e or \u003ca href\u003d\"https://my.care.org/site/Donation2?5000.donation\u003dform1\u0026amp;df_id\u003d5000\"\u003eCARE\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eDonate to CARE\u003c!-- CARE BUTTON --\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cform action\u003d\"https://checkout.google.com/cws/v2/Donations/621294754856311/checkoutForm\" id\u003d\"BB_BuyButtonForm\" method\u003d\"post\" name\u003d\"BB_BuyButtonForm\" onsubmit\u003d\"return validateAmount(this.item_price_1)\"\u003e\u003cinput name\u003d\"item_name_1\" value\u003d\"Donation to the CARE\" type\u003d\"hidden\"\u003e\u003cinput name\u003d\"item_description_1\" value\u003d\"Thank you for supporting CARE's emergency relief efforts for the earthquake in Haiti.\" type\u003d\"hidden\"\u003e\u003cinput name\u003d\"item_quantity_1\" value\u003d\"1\" type\u003d\"hidden\"\u003e\u003cinput name\u003d\"item_currency_1\" value\u003d\"USD\" type\u003d\"hidden\"\u003e\u003cinput name\u003d\"item_is_modifiable_1\" value\u003d\"true\" type\u003d\"hidden\"\u003e\u003cinput name\u003d\"item_min_price_1\" value\u003d\"5.00\" type\u003d\"hidden\"\u003e\u003cinput name\u003d\"item_max_price_1\" value\u003d\"25000.0\" type\u003d\"hidden\"\u003e\u003cinput name\u003d\"_charset_\" value\u003d\"utf-8\" type\u003d\"hidden\"\u003e\u003ctable cellpadding\u003d\"5\" cellspacing\u003d\"0\" width\u003d\"1%\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e        \u003ctr\u003e            \u003ctd align\u003d\"right\" nowrap\u003d\"nowrap\" width\u003d\"1%\"\u003e$ \u003cinput gtbfieldid\u003d\"92\" id\u003d\"item_price_1\" name\u003d\"item_price_1\" onfocus\u003d\"this.style.color\u003d'black'; this.value\u003d'';\" size\u003d\"11\" style\u003d\"color: grey;\" value\u003d\"Enter Amount\" type\u003d\"text\"\u003e       \u003c/td\u003e            \u003ctd align\u003d\"left\" width\u003d\"1%\"\u003e                  \u003cinput name\u003d\"Google Checkout2\" src\u003d\"http://www.google.com/relief/haitiearthquake/images/button_donate.gif\" alt\u003d\"Donate\" title\u003d\"Donate\" type\u003d\"image\"\u003e                         \u003c/td\u003e        \u003c/tr\u003e    \u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e                         \u003c/form\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c!-- END CARE BUTTON --\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c!-- UNICEF BUTTON --\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eDonate to UNICEF\u003cform action\u003d\"https://checkout.google.com/cws/v2/Donations/218826676216815/checkoutForm\" id\u003d\"BB_BuyButtonForm\" method\u003d\"post\" name\u003d\"BB_BuyButtonForm\" onsubmit\u003d\"return validateAmount(this.item_price_1)\"\u003e\u003cinput name\u003d\"item_name_1\" value\u003d\"Donation to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF\" type\u003d\"hidden\"\u003e\u003cinput name\u003d\"item_description_1\" value\u003d\"Thank you for supporting UNICEF’s emergency relief efforts for the earthquake in Haiti.\" type\u003d\"hidden\"\u003e\u003cinput name\u003d\"item_quantity_1\" value\u003d\"1\" type\u003d\"hidden\"\u003e\u003cinput name\u003d\"item_currency_1\" value\u003d\"USD\" type\u003d\"hidden\"\u003e\u003cinput name\u003d\"item_is_modifiable_1\" value\u003d\"true\" type\u003d\"hidden\"\u003e\u003cinput name\u003d\"item_min_price_1\" value\u003d\"5.00\" type\u003d\"hidden\"\u003e\u003cinput name\u003d\"item_max_price_1\" value\u003d\"25000.0\" type\u003d\"hidden\"\u003e\u003cinput name\u003d\"_charset_\" value\u003d\"utf-8\" type\u003d\"hidden\"\u003e\u003ctable cellpadding\u003d\"5\" cellspacing\u003d\"0\" width\u003d\"1%\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e        \u003ctr\u003e            \u003ctd align\u003d\"right\" nowrap\u003d\"nowrap\" width\u003d\"1%\"\u003e$ \u003cinput gtbfieldid\u003d\"104\" id\u003d\"item_price_1\" name\u003d\"item_price_1\" onfocus\u003d\"this.style.color\u003d'black'; this.value\u003d'';\" size\u003d\"11\" style\u003d\"color: grey;\" value\u003d\"Enter Amount\" type\u003d\"text\"\u003e        \u003c/td\u003e            \u003ctd align\u003d\"left\" width\u003d\"1%\"\u003e                    \u003cinput name\u003d\"Google Checkout2\" src\u003d\"http://www.google.com/relief/haitiearthquake/images/button_donate.gif\" alt\u003d\"Donate\" title\u003d\"Donate\" type\u003d\"image\"\u003e                            \u003c/td\u003e        \u003c/tr\u003e    \u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e                            \u003c/form\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c!-- END UNICEF BUTTON --\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eIn addition, Map Maker data has been made available to U.N. organizations and the team is working with the \u003ca href\u003d\"https://groups.google.com/group/map-your-world/about\"\u003eMap Your World Community\u003c/a\u003e to encourage Map Maker users with on the ground knowledge to \u003ca href\u003d\"http://mapmaker.google.com/\"\u003ehelp update the map of Haiti\u003c/a\u003e with disaster response data. We've received requests from relief organizations and our users to publish recent satellite imagery of the country. One of our imagery partners, GeoEye, has provided us with \u003ca href\u003d\"http://mw1.google.com/mw-earth-vectordb/haiti/Haiti-Earthquake-nl.kml\"\u003epost-earthquake imagery\u003c/a\u003e from Haiti. You can check our \u003ca href\u003d\"http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/\"\u003eLat Long blog\u003c/a\u003e for further updates.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eWe've also reached out to the YouTube community for help. A Spotlight on the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.youtube.com/\"\u003ehomepage\u003c/a\u003e and a ticker across the entire site drives traffic to \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v\u003dPZf8MRYasss\"\u003evideos\u003c/a\u003e from \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.youtube.com/user/OxfamGreatBritain\"\u003eOxfam\u003c/a\u003e and the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.youtube.com/user/AmRedCross\"\u003eAmerican Red Cross\u003c/a\u003e, where you can make donations to relief efforts. We're also keeping a running playlist of the video footage coming out of Haiti on \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.youtube.com/citizentube\"\u003eCitizentube\u003c/a\u003e; you can find a broad collection of citizen reports, news wire clips and \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.youtube.com/user/citizentube#p/c/D0BF520BFC0E7289/2/L-vU8ng8Nhk\"\u003epersonal stories\u003c/a\u003e of some of the victims.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"byline-author\"\u003ePosted by Jacquelline Fuller and Prem Ramaswami for the Google Crisis Response Team\u003c/span\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4164790564632732056-8620397730755759992?l\u003dblog.google.org' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/8620397730755759992"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/8620397730755759992"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://blog.google.org/2010/01/helping-haiti-respond-to-earthquake.html","title":"Helping Haiti respond to the earthquake"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Jamie Yood"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/00055778979957613057"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"14118214607831869425"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Qw6iwZD4gMQ/S0-f5-6Zn2I/AAAAAAAABBw/4jEpWLiGGpo/s72-c/dn34gwb_70dj38wmcc_b+%281%29.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164790564632732056.post-7633297417703705479"},"published":{"$t":"2010-01-12T11:36:00.000-08:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2010-01-14T15:31:14.463-08:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Flu Trends"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Google Flu Trends in 121 U.S. cities"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"In contrast to the unusually early spike of flu activity we saw this October, \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.google.org/flutrends/us/\"\u003eGoogle Flu Trends\u003c/a\u003e is currently showing a low level of activity in the United States. Since the strain of influenza that is active (H1N1) is novel, no one knows exactly what will happen next. However, \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/634771.html\"\u003ethe CDC is warning\u003c/a\u003e that one possibility is a second spike of flu activity, which is \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.cdc.gov/media/transcripts/2010/images/1957-Pandemic-Map.JPG\"\u003ewhat occured in 1957\u003c/a\u003e when another novel strain of influenza spread in the United States.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eWe've been chatting with public health officials about new ways we can help people understand the spread of flu during this unusual time and today we're excited to bring city level flu estimates to \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.google.org/flutrends/us/#cities\"\u003e121 cities in the United States\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca onblur\u003d\"try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" href\u003d\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Qw6iwZD4gMQ/S0zPcijxFLI/AAAAAAAABBo/ng2GmxF6ENk/s1600-h/fluTrendsCities_map.png\"\u003e\u003cimg style\u003d\"margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 263px;\" src\u003d\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Qw6iwZD4gMQ/S0zPcijxFLI/AAAAAAAABBo/ng2GmxF6ENk/s400/fluTrendsCities_map.png\" alt\u003d\"\" id\u003d\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425939740294714546\" border\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003eBy tracking the popularity of certain Google search queries, we're able to estimate the level of flu in near real-time. Google Flu Trends is updated daily and may provide early detection of flu activity, since traditional flu surveillance systems often take days or weeks to collect and release data. These city level estimates are \"experimental,\" meaning they haven't been validated against official data. However, the estimates are made in a similar manner to our U.S. national estimates, which have been validated. Check out our \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v\u003d6111nS66Dpk\"\u003eYouTube video\u003c/a\u003e for a quick introduction to this system.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eWe're pleased to be announcing this addition to Google Flu Trends during \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.cdc.gov/flu/nivw/\"\u003eNational Influenza Vaccination Week\u003c/a\u003e. If you're looking for a flu vaccine location near you, please visit the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.google.com/flushot\"\u003eflu shot finder\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"byline-author\"\u003ePosted by Matt Mohebbi, Software Engineer\u003c/span\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4164790564632732056-7633297417703705479?l\u003dblog.google.org' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/7633297417703705479"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/7633297417703705479"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://blog.google.org/2010/01/google-flu-trends-in-121-us-cities.html","title":"Google Flu Trends in 121 U.S. cities"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Jamie Yood"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/00055778979957613057"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"14118214607831869425"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Qw6iwZD4gMQ/S0zPcijxFLI/AAAAAAAABBo/ng2GmxF6ENk/s72-c/fluTrendsCities_map.png","height":"72","width":"72"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164790564632732056.post-3962271873181603519"},"published":{"$t":"2009-12-16T14:37:00.000-08:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-12-19T23:18:45.183-08:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Green"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Earth Engine, powered by Google"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"I'm here in Copenhagen this week, at the COP15 International Climate Change Conference. Whether you're attending in-person, or reading news headlines from home, you can't miss the fact that addressing climate change requires the world to solve a mind-boggling mix of science, policy and political issues. These are formidable challenges, but new technologies can help provide solutions for these complex problems. For example, one of the most promising areas of compromise has been an accord to compensate countries for preserving forests and other natural landscapes that play a crucial role in reducing emissions. Implementation of the agreement, known as \u003ca href\u003d\"http://unfccc.int/methods_science/redd/items/4531.php\"\u003eReducing Emissions From Deforestation and Forest Degradation\u003c/a\u003e, or REDD, will require the ability to accurately track deforestation at a regional and global level.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eDespite the widespread availability of global satellite imagery through products like Google Earth and Google Maps, it hasn't been easy for tropical nations to understand the state of their ecosystem, and to quantitatively monitor changes in forest coverage or other key indicators. That's why I'm proud to announce a new computational platform for global-scale analysis of satellite imagery: Earth Engine, powered by Google.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eAt an event today hosted by \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.adpartners.org/\"\u003eAvoided Deforestation Partners\u003c/a\u003e, global leaders from the President of Guyana to the Prime Minister of Norway expressed their support for REDD. Earlier today, the U.S, Australia, France, Japan, Norway and Britain pledged $3.5 billion over the next three years to protect rainforests. At the event, I demonstrated a prototype forest monitoring application built on top of Earth Engine that we developed together with the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.ciw.edu/\"\u003eCarnegie Institution for Science\u003c/a\u003e, \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.imazon.org.br/novo2008/index.php\"\u003eIMAZON\u003c/a\u003e and the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.moore.org/\"\u003eGordon and Betty Moore Foundation\u003c/a\u003e. Traditional forest monitoring is complex and expensive, requiring access to large amounts of satellite data, lots of hard drives to hold the data, lots of computers to process the data, and lots of time while you wait for various computations to finish. Our prototype demonstrates how Earth Engine makes all of this easier, by moving everything into the cloud. Google supplies data, storage, and computing muscle. As a result, you can visualize forest change in fractions of a second over the web, instead of the minutes or hours that traditional offline systems require for such analysis. The prototype applications running on Earth Engine aren't yet available to the public, but you can see screen shots in our earlier \u003ca href\u003d\"http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/seeing-forest-through-cloud.html\"\u003eblog post\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eWe want to ensure this technology is widely available when it's ready, so today I formally announced Google.org's commitment to provide our Earth Engine free to tropical countries to support their forest monitoring programs. I believe that this is just the first of many Earth Engine applications that will help enable scientists, policymakers, and the general public to better monitor and understand the Earth's ecosystems.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"byline-author\"\u003ePosted by Brian McClendon, VP Engineering\u003c/span\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4164790564632732056-3962271873181603519?l\u003dblog.google.org' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/3962271873181603519"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/3962271873181603519"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://blog.google.org/2009/12/earth-engine-powered-by-google.html","title":"Earth Engine, powered by Google"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Jamie Yood"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/00055778979957613057"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"14118214607831869425"}}]},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164790564632732056.post-235041787766676694"},"published":{"$t":"2009-12-15T09:39:00.000-08:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2010-03-18T13:50:19.833-07:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"PowerMeter"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Green"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"A simple way to curb climate change"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:85%;\"\u003e(Cross-posted from Google's \u003ca href\u003d\"http://googlepublicpolicy.blogspot.com/2009/12/simple-way-to-curb-climate-change.html\"\u003ePublic Policy Blog\u003c/a\u003e)\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003ePeople often get up in settings like the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://unfccc.int/2860.php\"\u003einternational climate change conference\u003c/a\u003e in Copenhagen and make complicated pronouncements that leave heads spinning. Today was different. Google, GE, the Climate Group, and NRDC, supported by other leading businesses and NGOs, had \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.google.org/powermeter/docs/copenhagen_consumer_energy_statement.pdf\"\u003ea simple message\u003c/a\u003e: governments across the world should ensure people have real-time access to their home energy information.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eMost of us know little about how we use energy in our homes, other than what our monthy power bill tells us. Yet \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.auburn.edu/projects/sustainability/SAB/resources/Sustain-A-Bowl_2009/topicalReading/energyconsump-feedback.pdf\"\u003estudies\u003c/a\u003e show that when people can see in real-time how much energy they are using, they save up to 15% on their electricity use with simple behavioral changes, and even more with investments in energy efficiency. The savings are huge when added up: if all US households reduced 15% of their energy use by 2020 it would be equivalent to taking 35 million cars off the road and would save consumers $46 billion on their energy bills.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eAs 40,000 people gather in Copenhagen to fight global warming, we think that's a solution that governments should be paying attention to. This group, which will take other actions after the meeting has ended, has begun a push to give ordinary citizens the tools to save money and save the planet. A lot of the decisions on the table in Copenhagen are hard, we believe this one is simple.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-style: italic;\"\u003eCopenhagen statement signers: Google, GE, The Climate Group, NRDC, Alliance to Save Energy, Center for American Progress, Demand Response and Smart Grid Coalition, Digital Energy Solutions Campaign, Dow, Energy Future Coalition, Intel, Kleiner Perkins Caufield \u0026amp; Byers, US Green Building Council, Whirlpool\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan class\u003d\"byline-author\"\u003ePosted by Michael Terrell, Energy Policy Counsel, Google.org\u003c/span\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4164790564632732056-235041787766676694?l\u003dblog.google.org' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/235041787766676694"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4164790564632732056/posts/default/235041787766676694"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://blog.google.org/2009/12/simple-way-to-curb-climate-change.html","title":"A simple way to curb climate change"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Jamie Yood"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/00055778979957613057"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"14118214607831869425"}}]}]}});