1. Google Digitally Preserves Notre Dame
Last Monday, one of the world’s most historic sites, the Notre Dame Cathedral of Paris, went up in flames. On Thursday, Google Arts & Culture celebrated World Heritage Day by expanding its Open Heritage project. According to Mashable, the project “digitally preserves historical sites online. Open Heritage is an initiative launched last year in partnership with the organization CyArk that puts digital 3D renderings, virtual tours, and other data about historical sites, in an open source Google Arts & Culture portal.” In case these historical landmarks are destroyed in a catastrophic event, the world still has these digital prints to explore historical sites as they once were. How does 3D scanning work? “It uses lasers to analyze the way light bounces off of a space or object (also known as lidar) to create a digital document of its exact measurements,” said ASMP. While it’s definitely not the same as experiencing the Notre Dame in person, it’s nice to know this exists.
(Source: Mashable)
2. Sri Lanka’s Social Media Shutdown
Yesterday, nearly 300 people were killed in Sri Lanka by a blamed Islamic group in a series of suicide bombing attacks. An apparent warning was issued on April 4th, however, a lack of intelligence, miscommunication and a power struggle between the country’s Prime Minister and the President were to blame. In an attempt to squander any more incoming attacks, the government decided to block access to social media platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp. Social media can often spread misinformation, especially around shootings and terrorist attacks. Analysts are questioning whether this tactic is the best move, which, in turn, is shedding light onto the ongoing concerns around social media’s part in attacks similar to Sri Lanka.
(Source: NY Times, The Washington Post)
3. In Greener News…
Happy Earth 🌎 Day! If you’ve been wanting to be a little more green, here are a few tips to get started.
- Shop vintage. Embrace what you already own. Use eco-friendly materials such as cotton over polyester.
- Figure out what can and cannot be recycled. Find a thorough list here.
- Save electricity by turning off lights or using outside lighting, switching to energy efficient light bulbs and turning all electronics off at night.
- Watch what you eat. Cut down on meat consumption, eat locally and seasonally to support low-scale food agriculture and try to buy foods that are unpackaged.
- Avoid straws. Over 500M plastic straws are used each day in the United States, contributing to the 80-90% of all marine debris’ made from plastic.
(Source: BBC News)
