The platform facilitates a creative blend of near-real time data, environmental science journalism, and compelling multimedia storytelling, all on a user-friendly digital interface that’s always up to date.
The platform facilitates a creative blend of near-real time data, environmental science journalism, and compelling multimedia storytelling, all on a user-friendly digital interface that’s always up to date.
Earth HQ’s dashboard is the first of its kind to provide a public facing interactive portal tracking daily crises and disasters arising from global warming. The platform facilitates a creative blend of near-real time data, environmental science journalism, and compelling multimedia storytelling, all on a user-friendly digital interface that’s always up to date.
“We need a ‘situation room’ for the planet”, said Owen Gaffney, Director of Communications for the Global Commons Alliance. “From bomb cyclones in California to extreme floods in Germany, the planetary emergency is rolling news. But no one is telling the full story on an open platform. This is why the Global Commons Alliance set up Earth HQ.”
Just ahead of COP26, the Global Commons Alliance has launched a new interactive platform to visualize and understand the looming climate and nature crisis. The new site, Earth HQ, allows users to interact with the latest data and insights on the state of our global commons – climate, freshwater, forest, ocean, and biodiversity. This ‘situation room for the planet’ combines the rigor of real time scientific data and engaging visualization with the storytelling power of environmental journalism to present a new way of understanding and confronting the planetary emergency.
From wildfires to air pollution to coral bleaching, Earth HQ tracks the forces impacting natural systems that support life on earth. It presents a constant flow of reliable, accessible scientific data on what can be done to protect the global commons – our vital resources and ecosystems.
“The Earth HQ interactive portal offers the public an astronaut’s view of Earth in crisis”, said Tim Kelly, Executive Director of Earth HQ and former president of National Geographic. “The data is sobering, but we also provide a wealth of data, stories, and video journalism filled with solutions and science, delivered by our partners at the World Resources Institute, Mongabay, and NowThis. Every day earthhq.org will be loaded with new data and insights about the existential challenges we face.”
“We’ll be adding new layers as we go on. We want to create a space where people can dive into the data and explore our planet,” said Cameron Beccario, creator of earth.nullschool.net.
Earth HQ is the media arm of the Global Commons Alliance, a large coalition of scientific and conservation organizations, and is a sponsored project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. Earth HQ’s data engine is provided by earth.nullschool.net, a visualization engine for near-real time global meteorological and biological data. Project management and data integrity is provided by the World Resources Institute’s Resource Watch, an open source platform which compiles hundreds of visualized data sets from the world’s most reliable sources. Environmental journalism is provided by EarthHQ’s media partners, Mongabay, and NowThis.
“Earth HQ is designed with the broader public in mind”, said Tea Tuur, World Resources Institute product specialist. “In fact, the Earth HQ design team, and our design partner 3 Sided Cube, has done a lot of signposting to make environmental data accessible not only to data scientists, but also to journalists, students, activists, and anyone else who is curious about the planet. Its ‘hero’ functionality is the Climate Alerts, which combine headlines, imagery, and articles with relevant data overlays, telling the story of what is happening on our planet and why.”
The ‘Breaking News’ pages on Earth HQ collates the latest relevant articles, videos, and data visualizations from Mongabay, NowThis Earth, and Resource Watch to tell the story with science and context. Willie Shubert, Global Program Director of Mongabay said “combining earth.nullschool.net’s near-real time visualizations with Mongabay’s environmental science news creates a powerful new tool. The Earth HQ platform places Mongabay’s on-the ground reporting, which features local voices from the Global South including Indigenous leaders and frontline conservationists, into the broader context of planetary scale environmental change.”
Earth HQ’s multimedia portal also offers the latest video news from NowThis, and their environmental channel, NowThis Earth. “For our Gen-Z and millennial audience of young changemakers, an actionable way forward on climate change and environmental health is a top priority,” said Athan Stephanopoulos, President of NowThis. “This new Earth HQ portal offers a daily comprehensive view on these challenges we all face.” NowThis is the #1 most watched video news brand in social media today.
Key features of Earth HQ include:
- Virtual Earth Display: A dazzling virtual Earth display at your fingertips offering dozens of visualized near-real time data sets on the state of the planet to be explored every day
- Climate Alerts: Daily headlines that guide users to the latest climate impacts and phenomena happening around the planet
- Data Highlights: A quick guide to some of the most insightful data visualizations tracking the Planetary Emergency
- Advanced Menu: An Earth dashboard for those who want to explore the full array of new visualized data available on Earth HQ
- Breaking News: Organized around each of the global commons, delivery of the latest news from our media partners
- Shareability: Every screen view of Earth HQ can be easily shared by simply copying the URL and posting via email or social media
The Earth HQ site is currently in beta. It is still being optimized for mobile, and new features will be added over the coming months including:
- A leaderboard of companies, governments, and other actors on the forefront of climate action
- A guide to the looming threat of major global tipping points, and efforts to prevent them
- Addition of more near-real time social, biological, and geophysical data as it becomes available
We invite you to explore the Earth HQ beta version and share your thoughts.
For inquiries and feedback please contact Christine Southam, Global Commons Alliance: christine@globalcommons.org.