Google.org may cut down deforestation with new monitoring tool

Deforestation is a huge problem in many countries rich in tropical forests but lacking in cash. Brazil is a great example where many local villagers sell lumber from the tropical forest on a regular basis to earn a living. Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (REDD) is a program meant to address that problem by paying local villagers to protect their forests. But how can REDD make intelligent decisions on where best to invest its money?

Google.org has decided to assist REDD and the world at large with its newly created tracking system that generates a heat map of activity where deforestation is occurring most intensely. It’s a conglomeration of software, satellite imagery and cloud computing – all of which are part of Google’s regular specialties.

At the core of this solution, Google.org pulled in members from the Carnegie Institution for Science who previously designed the Carnegie Landsat Analysis System (CLASlite). CLASlite previously struggled to succeed because of its limited access to satellite data and limited computing power. Moving to the cloud solves much of that challenge, and has the added benefit of making the data easily shareable with the world. Note that this tool is not yet available for public consumption, it’s still in private beta.

Reducing deforestation is one of the most efficient ways we can reduce carbon emissions because cutting down trees immediately begins a release of the carbon contained in their trunks while alive.

Emissions from tropical deforestation are comparable to the emissions of all of the European Union, and are greater than those of all cars, trucks, planes, ships and trains worldwide.

That makes some of our progress in wind and solar energy look paltry by comparison and Google is on track to add a lot of value through a tangent of its mission to organize the world’s information. This sort of intelligence sharing has the potential to mobilize communities and integrate fluidly with social networks, anyone else smelling change?