The awesome view of earth from the skies is marvelous, or so I am informed by some who have acquired a certain computer program at a nominal fee and now scrutinize various facets of the earth's surface.
Somehow, I wonder if I really want to view everything from above. If your purpose is to walk down memory lane, seems to me there may be merit in looking at those things from eye level here on the ground. As nostalgia tugs at me to view my childhood haunts, I think doing it like a floating or soaring bird from above just wouldn't be the same. It would not really satisfy that yearning for yesterday which blossoms from time to time in all of us.
The greater value of such a program might be in viewing that not yet seen. For me, this would include viewing current events, or looking at exotic destinations like the Mayan pyramids or those similar structures in Egypt.
Also, such a program probably has merit if you are a bit of a pantheist and want to see how it would feel to be a soaring eagle in the next life. I may get the program just so I can view those places in India, or England or North America where I was privileged to be for a brief time. Maybe I will even swing over to some underdeveloped nations and see how they are making out.
The sky view of the third world will definitely be one worth taking. Even now, doubters of the predicted future of economic contraction due to the depletion of resources by our ever growing population can view the beginning of global disaster in poorer countries.
Such a preview of the events and effects of the global economic contraction later to be experienced here will serve to hopefully get us more prepared. Hopefully, we can observe the changes elsewhere, vicariously experience them, and make fairly rapid adjustment to cope with what will surely be a different existence. Yes, the program is known as Google Earth and probably is a good thing.
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