Major kudos to HealthMap, one of our early grantees, for their work using free, web-based data sources to facilitate early outbreak detection and make it public on Google Maps.HealthMap just published an excellent overview of their work and findings in…
Posted by Amy Luers, Program Manager, Environment, Predict and PreventThe Myanmar cyclone and extreme flooding in Iowa are among the most recent beats in what seems to be a constant pulse of extreme weather-related disasters across the globe. Floods, h…
Posted by Meryl Stone, Associate, Google.orgA recent field visit took me to Kisii, a Kenyan town close to the shores of Lake Victoria. The population has swelled to 100,000 from approximately 70,000 largely because of refugees fleeing the post-electio…
Posted by David Bercovich, Project Manager, Google.orgDay two of the Google.org-Brookings Institution conference was punctuated by a panel moderated by Tom Friedman. The lively discussion covered topics including policy leadership, innovative business …
Posted by Jenny Kwan, Climate and Energy Intern, Google.orgHundreds of participants gathered today in Washington, DC as the Google.org – Brookings Institution conference kicked off. It was exciting to be able to see, in person, the latest electric car…
Posted by David Bercovich, Program Manager, Google.orgOn another day of record-high gas prices, the Google.org/Brookings Institution conference on plug-in vehicles kicked off in Washington, DC today. Electrifying transportation impacts our economy, nat…
Posted by Michael Terrell, Program Manager, Google.orgA new survey commissioned by Google.org shows that three out of four voters support an active government role in promoting plug-in electric cars and trucks. The poll of more than 700 likely voters c…
Posted by Frank Rijsberman, Program Director, Google.orgBjorn Lomborg likes to tackle “grand challenges.” In 2004, he organized the Copenhagen Consensus to have teams of economists recommend solutions to the world’s greatest problems. Experts were…
Posted by Katy Bacon, Google.org TeamCheck out this video of Fortune Magazine’s Mark Gunther interviewing Dan Reicher. Dan explains the RechargeIT program, talks about the potential for vehicle to grid technologies, and discusses the future of electri…
Posted by Larry Brilliant, Executive Director, Google.orgWe’re extremely saddened by the loss of life in both Myanmar (Burma) and China. In the days since the cyclone in Myanmar (Burma), teams across Google have been working to contribute to relief ef…
Posted by Salimah Samji, Program Manager, Google.orgPeople in developing countries often lack information that is critical for their well-being. For example, in India, the poor often do not know what they are entitled to and what services are available…
Posted by Christiaan Adams, Google Earth & Maps Specialist, Google.orgGoogle Earth is a great tool for exploring the world in ways never before possible. Many of the non-profits and other public-benefit organizations that we work with find it espe…
Posted by Aleem Walji, Head of Global Development Initiatives, Google.orgTwo members of our team recently attended an international conference at the Carter Center on the right to information (RTI). I must admit that I didn’t have much knowledge in thi…
Posted by Amy Luers, Program Manager, Google.org The World Health Organization (WHO) has dedicated today, World Health Day 2008, to raising awareness of the health risks of global climate change. Health belongs in the climate change discussion, a…
Posted by Christiaan Adams, Google Earth & Maps Specialist, Google.org, and France Lamy, Program Manager, Google.orgWith the World Health Organization (WHO) and World Health Day 2008 drawing attention to climate change and health today, we wante…