Center for Investigative Reporting

March 20th, 2013

Google employees face health risks from Superfund site’s toxic vapors

Employees at satellite campus exposed to elevated levels of chemical linked to cancer, birth defects:

The main threat from TCE is posed by vapors from the contaminated groundwater seeping into buildings and accumulating in interior spaces.

The new Google campus features four two-story office buildings linked by steel-reinforced fences that require a key card to enter. Inside is a stretch of grass and food carts, giving the area the feel of a college campus.

On a recent afternoon, young women, pregnant women and visitors with young children could be seen relaxing in the courtyard. One Google employee who was visibly pregnant was asked if she was aware of risks associated with TCE exposure.

“We’re really not allowed to talk about it,” she said. “Sorry.”

August 20th, 2012

Fascinating visualization from Google …

ageofperil:

Using data from the Peace Research Institute Oslo, Google Ideas produced this stunning interactive visualization showing the flow of small arms and ammunition across the globe. Go play with it. Now. Here’s a helpful explainer [PDF] on how it was produced. When you’re done, read the book “Merchant of Death.”

Reblogged from Perilous

June 19th, 2012

103

The percent increase of requests Google says it received from government and law enforcement agencies in the U.S. to remove blog posts between the first and last six months of 2011. More.

January 19th, 2012

publicradiointernational:

Wael Ghonim, the Google executive who played a key role in last January’s protests in Egypt, recounts how he was arrested by Egyptian police, the 11 days he spent in custody, and what he discovered after he was released:

“I felt like I was captured for 11 years, because I’m seeing a new version of Egyptians — all of a sudden, everyone is empowered, passionate.”

Last year, Ghonim set up a Facebook page to memorialize the killing of a young Egyptian man, Khaled Said, at the hands of Egyptian police. On that page, he urged Egyptians to take to the streets. His call helped organized the first protest in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. He said he wasn’t trying to start a political movement; rather it was a call for human rights.

(Photo: Wael Ghonim from his Facebook page.)

Reblogged from Public Radio International (PRI)

September 26th, 2011

Zoom

latimes:

Dead Sea Scrolls go online, thanks to Google and Israel Museum.

Photo: The War Scroll. Credit: Israel Museum

Reblogged from Los Angeles Times

May 31st, 2011

Google Earth tool shows proximity of nuclear plants

Nuclear power plants are often located in highly populated areas.

That’s because they were designed to provide electricity for people. And the closer the plants are to those people, the less energy required to get that power there.

So, just how close are these plants to people? And how many people are we talking about?

Those were the questions the journal Nature and Columbia University sought to answer when they created this Google Earth tool.

The researchers and writers found that two-thirds of the world’s 211 power plants each have more than 172,000 people living within a 19-mile radius. That’s more than the population around Fukushima. Read more

Photo via Topato/Flickr

May 17th, 2011

Zoom

Interesting interactive Google map allows you to search for newspapers around the world based on location and language.

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Google Earth tool shows proximity of nuclear plants

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