Menu
The Atlas of Disappearing Places: Our Coasts and Oceans in the Climate Crisis
Bottom of the pile
18
/100
I Index Overall Rating
Readers
19/100Critics
17/100Scholars
Author:
Christina Conklin, Marina Psaros, Lawrence Susskind
Publisher:
New Press
Date:
July 20, 2021
Through a combination of place-based storytelling, explanations of climate science and policy, and maps that use a unique ink-on-dried-seaweed technique, The Atlas of Disappearing Places depicts twenty locations across the globe, from Shanghai and Antarctica to Houston and the Cook Islands. The authors describe four climate change impactsâchanging chemistry, warming waters, strengthening storms, and rising seasâusing the metaphor of the ocean as a body to draw parallels between natural systems and human systems.
What The Reviewers Say
After delving into Christina Conklin and Marina Psaros’ engaging and sometimes enraging The Atlas of Disappearing Places: Our Coasts and Oceans in the Climate Crisis, you may find it difficult to remain passive about climate change for a whole lot longer.
The metaphor of the ocean as a body that’s suffering from chronic inflammation and trauma is effective. Statistics and expert quotes are used to lend support to the book’s models without overwhelming its storytelling.
At a time when the latest doom-and-gloom news is just a swipe away, it can be difficult to find new ways to make the climate crisis feel vital again. The Atlas of Disappearing Places succeeds by approaching the subject from a place of hope and beauty, combining place-based storytelling and scientific data with exquisitely-rendered maps of twenty vulnerable locations across the globe. The rare coffee table book that’s also a call to arms..
While the case studies themselves are fairly discouraging, the beautiful maps and hopeful vignettes about the future temper this important book about climate change in our world..
