If we are to believe the recent spate of sustainability-themed online map mashups, the best way to make sense of the planet's future is through clickable maps. The most recent entry into the map arena is the greenhouse gas emissions Google map mashup released by the United Nations Climate Change Secreteriat and members of the Google team.

At first glance, the map, which rates the emissions of industrialized countries by year, economic sector, industry, and type of greenhouse gas, serves as little more than a way to point fingers at certain countries for their egregious emissions. But in reality, the map is much more useful than that. As Google's LatLong blog points out, the map could be helpful in forming a climate change agreement at this fall's United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. And by allowing us to track countries' emissions over time, we can pinpoint which nations should be used as an example and which should be used as a cautionary tale.

Interested in more green map goodness? The NRDC has both a Google map mashup showing which areas in the U.S. have the most potential for renewable energy development and a map that points out areas where renewable energy installers could run into trouble with legal restrictions.

[Via Google LatLong]

Related:
NRDC's Online Renewable Energy Map Examines Cleantech Potential in the U.S.