We’ve finally done it: the “Drones and Aerial Observation” primer I’ve been working on for New America with support from the Omidyar Network and Humanity United has been released into the wild. Ever wondered how drones can help with peaceful endeavors, from disaster response, to conservation, to archaeology? We have you covered. With this […]
Author: Faine Greenwood
How Drones can Protect Indigenous Land Rights – Latest for Slate
Drones to the Rescue: how unmanned aerial vehicles can help indigenous people protect their land – Slate My latest on Future Tense, documenting how inexpensive UAVs can help indigenous people (and other people without much access to resources) document where they live and what they own. From an interview with Irendra Radjawali, a fascinating Indonesian […]
3D Mapping with a Drone in Wildest Vermont
If you know me at all, you’re probably aware that I write about and research the humanitarian uses of drones for a living. One aspect of today’s drone technology I find particularly interesting is how aerial imagery can be used to make 3D modeling, even with inexpensive consumer technology. I’ve been wanting to try it […]
The Arsenal of Democracy: WWII Planes in Washington D.C
On Friday, I saw the WWII flyover on the National Mall. They called it the “Arsenal of Democracy” after FDR’s famous phrasing in 1940, a name which in our modern age are both comically overwrought and entirely American – perhaps representations of the same thing. It was the 70th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day, […]
Nepal Disaster Response, and Please Don’t Just Go There With a Drone
About a week ago, I wrote an article for Slate about how drone pilots were assisting with the devastating earthquake in Nepal. Here’s the article, which is a general overview of the planned response – at the time of writing, not much had actually happened yet with disaster response UAV flights. Patrick Meier, organizer […]
Faine Made a Drone Video: Travel in Cambodia and Thailand
I dragged my Phantom 2 around Southeast Asia last summer. I wondered at the time if this was really a good idea, but the Phantom survived, I survived, and I got to fly it over some pretty cool things in the process. Some observations about travel with the companionship of a drone that fits in […]
Charlie Hebdo, Twitter, and The Battle of Who Could Care Most
“You don’t care about the Boko Haram attacks in Nigeria, but you do care about Charlie Hebdo,” some pissed-off Twitter user says. “All this anger over attacks in Paris, but none over children freezing to death in Syria!” another rages. It’s a familiar pattern, one that bubbles to the surface whenever a terrible event hits […]
“Last Christmas” or Cambodia’s Inexplicable Favorite Christmas Song
It’s the holidays, and I want to talk to you about a very, very annoying Christmas song, one that nevertheless has a special, perverse place in my heart thanks to my time in Cambodia. It’s called “Last Christmas,” and was created by those British songster scamps “Wham,” who you’ve probably never heard of outside of […]
Mango Chicken Curry For Wintertime Existential Despair
I’ve spent many years as a sworn enemy of fruit in curries. Too often, adding fruit to a perfectly adequate, flavorful Asian or South Asian dish renders it a sickly-sweet abomination geared towards the kind of people who think garlic powder is exotic. However, I made an exception for this South Indian-ish chicken mango curry, […]
Buffalo Racing in Cambodia: So Very Majestic
You know it’s a damn good holiday when there’s a chance you might get run over by frightened livestock. At least, that’s how it is in Vihear Sour Cheung village in Ksach Kandal district in the Cambodian countryside. Falling in either late September or fall on the Western calender, Pchum Ben is Cambodia’s Day […]