Cartography
“Scientific evidence for warming of the climate system is unequivocal.” Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
National Geographic
Climate Change
Part of a series of maps promoted by National Geographic, the map illustrates the scientific evidence of climate change and global warming. The IPCC Fifth Assessment Report claims that “the current warming trend is of particular significance because most of it is extremely likely to be the result of human activity since the mid-20th century and proceeding at a rate that is unprecedented over decades to millennia.” Most climate scientists agree the main cause of the current global warming trend is human expansion of the "greenhouse effect" which has devastating consequences to the point that the UN has warned of the concrete possibility that the course of climate change may be irreversible. Visit ngm.com/climateconnections and nor.org/climateconnections for further information on Earth’s changing climate.
“Destroying rainforest for economic gain is like burning a Renaissance painting to cook a meal.” - Edward Osborne Wilson
Deforestation Map of the United States
Deforestation
This map reveals the forest distribution in the Unites States through a visual comparison of data from 1700 and 1970. A pattern of forest degradation is clearly evident. To reverse the process, reforestation should be implemented as well as acknowledgment of industrial livestock production as a driver of forest loss should be a primary concern. However, while waiting for a prompt and efficient intervention, the loss rapidly continues worldwide.
“The only biodiversity we’re going to have left is Coke versus Pepsi. We’re landscaping the whole world one stupid mistake at a time.” - Chuck Palahniuk
State of the World Atlas (1999)
Biodiversity
This is the sixth edition of The State of the World Atlas, published in 1999. The maps and cartograms included report data that range from Nutrition, Refugees, and Unemployment, to Gender Equality, Reproductive Rights, and Global Warming.
The map selected for the exhibit illustrates biodiversity, pointing out protected land areas, biosphere reserves, and threatened species. Unfortunately, as a result of the harmful impact of human activity, Earth is unable to keep up in the struggle to regenerate, therefore loss of biodiversity and extinction risks are direct consequences of the absence of proper political action aimed at the protection and preservation of Earth’s flora, fauna, and source water.
USSR
This map from the height of the USSR detailed the stunning diversity of wildlife throughout the Soviet Union.