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The European Environment Agency (EEA) in collaboration with Microsoft, have launched a new environmental information portal Eye on Earth, displaying the latest information on the water quality in bathing sites across Europe.
Through its first application ‘Water Watch’, the new portal allows users to rate beaches and to share their comments with others.
Prof. Jacqueline McGlade, Executive Director of the EEA said
“Bathing water information is only a first step in our collaboration with Microsoft. We will gradually expand this two-way communication platform to include other environmental information, such as biodiversity and air quality.”
The Eye on Earth portal will enable viewers to check the latest information available on the water quality at thousands of locations across Europe. The bathing water application retrieves information from more than 21,000 monitoring points across Europe. For all these bathing sites, the portal presents information from recent years. For some countries, including Greece, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Portugal and Slovakia, the portal also displays the latest 2008 rating available.
Eye on Earth allows users to zoom in on a given section of the coast or riverbank, both in street map or bird’s eye viewing formats. A ‘traffic-light’ evaluation (red, amber, green) of water quality based on scientific monitoring methods is supported by similar ratings reflecting the experiences of people who have visited the bathing site.As part of the five-year partnership announced last May, the EEA and Microsoft will continue to develop the Eye on Earth portal by adding new sets of environmental information.
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