Street View detects gas leaks
Google partners with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) to include methane sensors on its Street View cars in Boston, Staten Island, and Indianapolis. They use this data to create a publicly available map of the location and severity of natural gas leaks, which they hope will motivate cities to take action. EDF associate vice president Mark Brownstein releases a statement:
Until now, these smaller leaks have not been a priority in most places. Yet we can see from these maps just how much they can add up. By pulling vast amounts of information together in a place that offers simple, clickable visualization, the platform is going to be an important advocacy tool, one that helps shift resources to an area of historic underinvestment.