Google Earth and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced Wednesday that Google is developing a tool that will map out the alarming predictions of how California can be affected by climate change.

The project is a result of the collaboration between with the California Natural Resources Agency, Gov. Schwarzenegger, the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), an organization funded by the California Energy Commission and Google.org.

In a statement, SEI says that ecologists now have a serious problem in explaining the important information for climate change consequences in an understandable manner. It’s crucial these climate transformations to be clearly explained to politicians that take the significant decisions now. Ecologist need to visualize their scientific results on interactive geographic maps to succeed in explaining their ecologic fears.

The CalAdapt Google Earth tool will allow individuals to view how their specific region would be changed. Unfortunately, the interactive tool will not be ready for public use until September 2010. But on Wednesday, Google.org broadcasted two related videos narrated by Schwarzenegger. Both the three-minute video (see it here) and seven-minute video demonstrate the visualization of which data the Google Earth CalAdapt tool will make more satisfying.

CalAdapt visually demonstrates the effects of climate change following the results of the current scientific data available to the state of California. It includes past data regarding temperature change and water shortages. Besides, it includes data modeling what will happen if, for example, the Sierra snow pack disappears. It also includes data on which parts of the state's shoreline would be most effected due to storms and rising sea levels.

The tool has a teaching objective – it aims to show people what scientists believe will happen to the California climate in the coming years. But it also happens to dovetail into Schwarzenegger's executive order that the state develop a "Climate Adaptation Strategy" on everything from agriculture to commercial land development.