…if, that is, seeing is knowing, knowledge is power, and power is helpful for changing things.

A new venture from Google Earth lets you explore humanitarian or philanthropic ventures by seeing what these activities actually look like. I’m avoiding a problem set right now, checking out a refugee camp in southern Chad. NGO people: note that there is a nice grant available to help you get your story out to donors using this tool.

Here is some news coverage, and here is the official Google Earth Outreach site.

If you need help figuring out how to take advantage, read on for some tips

TIPS:

-download and install Google Earth

-Go to the Case Studies page

-Click on a KMZ file

-Check the new bookmark added to the “places” window in your Google Earth application

-Click on the icons that appear in the main Google Earth window

-Learn something

(note that you can get KMZ files from places other than the Case Studies page; that’s just a suggestion)