Maps Mania

Paving Paradise for the Ultra Rich

Say Goodbye to Your Outdoor LifeThe Wilderness Society has identified over 250 million acres of public land that Republicans are preparing to sell under new legislation. If the SENR Bill passes, then you can expect to spend a lot more time indoors.Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act has already been dubbed a “Reverse Robin Hood Bill.” The legislation contains a range of measures explicitly

http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/2025/06/paving-paradise-for-ultra-rich.html

Insurers Retreating From Climate-Risk Zones

For many Americans, one of the consequences of climate change is higher insurance premiums. In Homeowners Insurance in an Era of Climate Change, the Brookings Institution maps U.S. Treasury Federal Insurance Office data to show where home insurance is becoming more costly and harder to obtain for millions of Americans.One way this is happening is through non-renewals of homeowners insurance. A

http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/2025/06/insurers-retreating-from-climate-risk.html

The Reforestation Interactive Map

The Nature Conservancy has released a new interactive map identifying 195 million hectares around the world where forest cover could be restored."Reforesting these areas could capture 2.2 billion tonnes of CO₂ per year, equivalent to removing 481 million passenger vehicles driven for one year."Click on a country on the Reforestation Hub map to see how much land could be reforested, how many

http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/2025/06/the-reforestation-interactive-map.html

When Ocean Currents Collapse

AMOC Collapse VisualizationA new study suggests that global warming could paradoxically plunge Europe into dramatic cooling, leading to severe winter cold spells, more intense storms, and reduced rainfall. Average winter temperatures could plunge, sea ice could spread as far south as the British Isles, and nearly half the year could see temperatures below freezing.The Atlantic Meridional

http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/2025/06/when-ocean-currents-collapse.html

When is the sun directly overhead?

The longest day of the year occurs this coming Saturday. In the Northern Hemisphere, the summer solstice is on June 21st. This is the day when the subsolar point - the location on Earth where the Sun is directly overhead at solar noon - reaches its northernmost position, directly above the Tropic of Cancer.
The subsolar point moves north and south throughout the year as the Earth orbits the

http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/2025/06/when-is-sun-directly-overhead.html

Prosecuting Crimes Against Humanity

The Universal Jurisdiction Interactive Map (UJIM), developed by TRIAL International, is a comprehensive and accessible digital tool designed to track and display criminal cases related to serious international crimes such as genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, torture, enforced disappearances, and the crime of aggression.Universal Jurisdiction is a legal principle that allows states

http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/2025/06/prosecuting-crimes-against-humanity.html

800K Galaxies - 1 Map

The newly unveiled COSMOS-Web is the largest, most detailed map of the universe ever created. The map plots nearly 800,000 galaxies, and almost spans the entire 13.8-billion-year history of the cosmos.The map is the result of a multinational collaboration led by astrophysicists at UC Santa Barbara and the Rochester Institute of Technology - using data collected by the James Webb Space Telescope.

http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/2025/06/the-newly-unveiled-cosmos-web-is.html

Discover the Toxin Polluters Near You

ToxOnline is an interactive map that allows you to see which facilities are releasing toxins in your area. Simply enter your address into the map to instantly discover where and how toxic chemicals are being released near your home.The map displays markers for all facilities reporting toxic releases and includes a heat map showing the average toxic release in the searched area. By clicking

http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/2025/06/discover-toxin-polluters-near-you.html

The Real-Time 15 City Map

The concept of the '15 Minute City' aims to make urban living more livable and sustainable by ensuring that all essential individual needs can be met without reliance on a car or public transport. It's a very simple idea: ideally, an individual's essential needs should be accessible within a short travel distance.Such a simple concept deserves a suitably simple-to-understand map. CThood

http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/2025/06/the-real-time-15-city-map.html

Like Google My Maps but Better

Tasmap is a powerful platform that allows anyone to create personalized, interactive maps - like Google My Maps, but better!To help you build your own custom maps, Tasmap includes built-in AI support. This means you can get started quickly by simply telling Tasmap what you want to include on your map.For example, I gave Tasmap the following prompt:Help me create a map of filming locations in Los

http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/2025/06/like-google-my-maps-but-better.html

EthnoGuessr

EthnoGuessr is a geography-based guessing game inspired by GeoGuessr, but instead of identifying real-world locations from street views, players are shown composite facial images representing average features of various ethnic groups. The facial averages (sourced from anthropological website Human Phenotypes) serve as clues. Players must guess the historical geographic origin of the

http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/2025/06/ethnoguessr.html

Is this the future of Street View?

Odyssey has released a demo of its new AI technology that enables users to explore 3D video environments in real time.
Odyssey is similar to Google Maps Street View in that it allows users to visually explore real-world environments. However, instead of navigating through static 360-degree photos, Odyssey uses AI-generated streaming video that responds dynamically to user input.
The result

http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/2025/06/the-future-of-street-view-has-arrived.html

Mapping A Billion Birds

The ADS-B Massive Visualizer now maps 1.5 billion eBird observations. This powerful, interactive geospatial tool shows where and when different bird species have been observed by eBird users around the world.At first glance, the map may look like just a collection of dots - but click the selector button (the square with an arrow in the bottom left corner), and you can draw a region to

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Mapping Whale Superhighways

The WWF has launched a new interactive map Blue Corridors that brings 30 years of whale migration data to life. Using the map you can:🛰️ See where whales travel.⚠️ Learn what’s putting them at risk.💙 Discover how we can protect them.The new Blue Corridors interactive map is designed to support global whale conservation efforts by visualizing decades of scientific data in a way that is

http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/2025/06/mapping-whale-superhighways.html

Canadian Wildfire Smoke Forecasts

The wildfires currently raging in Canada have forced the evacuation of over 25,000 people across Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. Manitoba has been the hardest hit, with entire communities like Flin Flon and Cranberry Portage forced to flee. The smoke from the wildfires is now affecting air quality not just in Canada, but in several U.S. states.You can use Smoke Forecast to view

http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/2025/06/canadian-wildfire-smoke-forecasts.html

Poland's Political Partition Persists

Here are two maps of Poland. The map on the left shows the partitioned Poland of 1815–1918 (from Lessons from the Partitions of Poland). The map on the right is Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza's interactive map of this week's 2025 Polish Election.It has long been a tradition, after every Polish election, for observers to note that current voting patterns in the country still seem to follow

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Hunger Maps

The Hunger Map by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations is a visual tool that illustrates the prevalence of undernourishment across the world. It visualizes the geographic distribution of hunger and helps monitor global food insecurity trends.Hunger Map allows users to explore data across multiple geographic scales, including countries, subregions, and regions,

http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/2025/06/hunger-maps.html

The Start of Hurricane Season

Hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean officially begins on June 1 and ends on November 30 each year. The peak of hurricane activity typically occurs from mid-August to late October, with September 10 often cited as the statistical peak of the season. During this time, meteorologists and emergency planners closely monitor tropical systems and prepare for potential impacts to the U.S., Central

http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/2025/06/the-start-of-hurricane-season.html

Is it Hot Right Now?

Is the UK hot right now? is a new interactive map that displays live, hour-by-hour temperatures across the country and shows how these temperatures compare to the historical average.On the map, colored numbered markers indicate how much the current temperature is above or below the average at various locations. Clicking on a location’s marker opens a chart showing all recorded temperatures

http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/2025/05/is-it-hot-right-now.html

How the US Arms the Mexican Drug Cartels

There are only two gun stores in Mexico, and both are located on military bases. Yet the country still suffers from a major gun homicide problem. So where are the guns coming from?In 2015, a Mexican military helicopter was shot down by cartel fighters using a Browning machine gun and a Barrett .50-caliber rifle. Both weapons were traced back to legal purchases in U.S. gun shops. This stark

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Belt & Road vs TACO

In 2013, China launched its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to boost trade with the rest of the world. Today, China is the world’s largest trading nation.A key component of the BRI has been major investments in strategic overseas ports and airports. The Council on Foreign Relations has tracked these developments through two interactive maps:Tracking China’s Control of Overseas PortsTracking

http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/2025/05/open-for-trade.html

Taxing for War

The average American spends nearly $3,000 a year funding the military. In contrast, if those Americans lived in Haiti, they would contribute just $1.70 per year to military spending.The World BEYOND War's Mapping Militarism project presents a series of maps that illustrate how much individual countries spend on their militaries. The site’s “Money” map includes two key views: one

http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/2025/05/taxing-for-war.html

The Largest Gathering in Human History

The Maha Kumbh Mela is one of the largest religious gatherings on Earth. It is a Hindu pilgrimage festival that occurs every 12 years. The 2025 Maha Kumbh Mela, held in Prayagraj, was particularly significant because it was a “Maha Kumbh”, an event that takes place only once every 144 years, due to a rare celestial alignment.During the 2025 Maha Kumbh Mela, an estimated 663 million pilgrimages

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Unlocking Google’s Hidden Maps

Google's My Maps is a free tool that allows users to create custom maps. It's particularly useful for planning trips, visualizing geographic data, or sharing directions and locations with others.Given the popularity of My Maps, there are likely millions of maps containing valuable local knowledge created by users around the world. Unfortunately, Google does not provide a centralized

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The Google Maps Platform Awards

To mark two decades of mapping innovation, Google has announced the Google Maps Platform Awards, a new program created to celebrate the developers and innovators who have shaped the digital mapping landscape over the past 20 years. For those who build with geospatial tools, APIs, and data this is your opportunity to showcase your best work.Google aims to recognize the impact that developers have

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