Google Earth.... Too much of a good thing?

I knew this would happen! In today's news... The head of Australia's nuclear energy agency has called on Google Earth program to censor images of the country's only nuclear reactor.

Google Earth also "censors" the White House with blocks of color over the roof and the nearby Treasury Department and Executive Office buildings.

I'm sure the list will keep growing and growing as more and more governments wake up to the fact that millions of citizens are sitting at home viewing ariel and satellite photos of areas they are forbidden to visit. On the Keyhole BBS there is a whole board dedicated to military matters, with detailed coordinates, overlays, and information about almost every aspect of military hardware and facilities on earth.

For example, just south of my house is Garden Island. It is Australia's west coast submarine base. US subs visit there. It is a very restricted space, off limits to the public. I was able to use Google Earth to fly overhead and observe the facilities. In the photo I could see 3 subs in their pens. Next to them where the service ships.

The Genie is out of the bottle on this one. I think people knew that it is simply a matter of time before Google Earth becomes seriously censored, out of misplaced security concerns. So images are being stored on hard drives all over the world and will be available as overlays.