Swine Flu + Google Earth = More To Be Alarmed About

Filed under: mashups

Ok, between me and you and the internets, I just have to say that I am a bit of a conspiracy theorist and giant skeptic when it comes to news and the media in general.  And this “Swine Flu” I have to put at the top of my list of ridiculous distractions from important and actual news that I ‘ve seen since…um…Bird Flu.

Since Obama’s election all the news was about the economy, what Obama is doing, what Obama isn’t doing and what he’s said he WOULD do that he hasn’t.  Fair enough.  Those subjects are important and relevant to our country and its survival.  In short they are NEWS.

But then it always happens.  Maybe the government wants our attention turned a different way for some particular reason, maybe the media doesn’t have anything fascinating to report.  But whatever the reason, all of a sudden all the news outlets suddenly become obsessed with…Anthrax…or Avian Flu…and this time Swine Flu.

But how is Swine Flu even news?  It’s not even deadly.  It’s not going to be a “pandemic” as the media repeatedly threatens.  It’s not anything more than a red herring, in my opinion.  The frustrating part is a red herring to distract us from WHAT?  That’s the part I don’t know.  And it’s the part that really bothers me.

Well, that said, as long as this ridiculous Swine Flu is going to be making headlines, I suppose I should at least mention a neat way that the instances of it are being monitored using Google Earth.

Several organizations have put together their own Swine Flu maps using Google Earth and other mapping resources.  Here is one really well-done and comprehensive map: Swine Flu on Google Maps.  It was created by Henry Niman, a Pittsburgh biomedical researcher.  This map shows the location of every case around the world, as well as whether swine flu was suspected, confirmed or tested negative. There are other maps as well, and for the original article and the rest of the links to Swine Flu maps, click here.

Comments are closed.