A National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency contract was designed to provide the spy agency with an integrated system that would allow analysts from different disciplines to use the Google Earth mapping program in a way that allows for a freer exchange of data between them.
RIVERHEAD, N.Y. -- A town on New York's Long Island is using Google Earth to find backyard pools that don't have the proper permits.
The town of Riverhead has used the satellite image service to find about 250 pools whose owners never filled out the required paperwork.
Violators were told to get the permits or face hefty fines. So far about $75,000 in fees has been collected.
Riverhead's chief building inspector Leroy Barnes Jr. said the unpermitted pools were a safety concern. He said that without the required inspections there was no way to know whether the pools' plumbing, electrical work and fencing met state and local regulations.
"Pool safety has always been my concern," Barnes said.
But some privacy advocates say the use of Google Earth to find scofflaw swimming pools reeks of Big Brother.
Lillie Coney, associate director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington, D.C., said Google Earth was promoted as an aid to curious travelers but has become a tool for cash-hungry local governments.
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