As life on land struggles with anthropocentric practices, the oceans are choking silently. The Atlas of Disappearing Places is a stunning blend of art, science, and speculative writing. Christina Conklin and Marina Psaros have created maps of various coastal and oceanic regions around the globe using art to show the dire consequences of melting ice, ocean acidification, and changing wave patterns. The book connects changing coastal patterns to our changing political and socio-economic conditions as well.

Each chapter has maps recreated from published data sources with colored legends and then digitally layered onto Google Earth images to depict geographical reference points. Conklin painted these maps on dried “sea-lettuce” (Ulva sp.) sheets. The green macroalgae were hauled, stacked, and bleached in the sun to create translucent parchment ready for seaweed cartography. The work is a tribute to eco-art sensibilities and creates a space for artistic contemplation for the reader. With every map, you are reminded of the vast swathes of marine life currently residing in our oceans and the effect our actions have on them.

The authors divided the book into four parts. The first part discusses changing the chemistry of the oceans. From the Great Pacific Garbage Patch to the “dead zone” of the Arabian Sea (also known as “oxygen minimum zone” or OMZ), the maps show that our ocean ecosystems are in deep danger due to increased acidification, fertilizer plant waste disposal, and plastic dump. The second part titled “Strengthening Storms” creates a bleak picture of hurricanes and cyclones which disrupt low-lying islands, coastal habitats, and cityscapes. Rising temperatures make for a striking part three where seaweed maps show sea surface temperatures in the Arctic and the Antarctic are in bright red. Finally, rising sea levels that will upend and force people to migrate to the interior mainland or drier areas is a frightening endnote of the book.

Most people think a plastic bag eaten by a turtle does not directly affect them. In our fluorescent-lit and air-conditioned dwellings, the melting Arctic permafrost does not command our attention. One of the chapters titled “The North Atlantic: In Deep” has vivid paintings of the biodiversity of ocean microscopic life. The oceans are a vibrant living web of plankton (bacteria, protists, viruses, and other tiny creatures) that generate 50–80% of the oxygen on Earth. These form a part of a dynamic system in the ocean that regulates via feedback loops while adapting to changes around them. Therefore, tiny changes in seas such as temperature or lack of oxygen create a cascading effect that disrupts the plankton population and higher life forms.

The authors create a powerful narrative depicting a similarity between our addiction to fossil fuels and substance abuse. Medical science and psychology have paved the way to understand drug dependence and recovery methods. The authors propose a similar recovery pathway to overcoming self-deceit in this consumer-driven world that runs on fossil fuels. Rather than enforcing complete abstinence of usage, approaches aimed at incremental reduction of fossil fuels allow for a real and visible shift. Personal steps like taking a bike instead of a car or ditching that single-use plastic bottle reduces harm to our nature. Such individual steps pave the path for restructuring consumer patterns for a safe and healthy future generation. Of course, massive international cooperation and tightened government regulations are needed to wane off our dependence on fossil fuels but sudden abstinence of these resources is not feasible, especially for low-income and underdeveloped countries.

The book triumphs for me in its speculative snapshots of the Earth in the year 2050. Each chapter ends with a conclusive fictive scenario of the future. The authors have relied on present technologies and knowledge to instill some hope in planning for a long-term strategy of sustainable, cheap, efficient, and peaceful existence on the planet. A future where international cooperation regarding maritime practices, climate migration, alternative fuel strategies, and eco-engineering coexist. Again, these fictive scenarios are speculative and not true events or predictions rather they are weaved inspired by current events. But they are powerful and interesting. Though not all scenarios are pretty. One of the images portrayed in the book will stay with me for quite some time. It involves a class of petrochemicals called poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). They are ubiquitous in the environment and bioaccumulate in humans and other life forms. The authors put a creative spin on how PFAS will affect our future generation. The effect is surreal and thought-provoking. I leave the reader with this powerful vignette from the book.

“In 2025, a home test kit for PFAS contamination was created by a group of DIY bio-enthusiasts, and the Alphas* seized on it. Teens published their PFAS blood concentration levels on their social media feeds, they got finger tattoos with their numbers, they shaved their results into their hairstyles. Their parents were angry and proud and embarrassed and exasperated. And still worried.”
(*Alphas here denote the children of the Millennials.)

THE ATLAS OF DISAPPEARING PLACES by Christina Conklin and Marina Psaros is all about "Our Coasts and Oceans in the Climate Crisis." Conklin (an artist, writer, and researcher) and Psaros (a sustainability expert who works with NOAA and USGS) have created an absolutely breathtaking set of illustrations. They chose to focus on about twenty locations around the world (including Camden, Maine; Houston, Texas; Ben Tre, Vietnam; and Gravesend, United Kingdom). For each, they include a map which was created with water-soluble inks on dried "sea lettuce" and digitally layered onto a Google Earth image. Also in each chapter is an exploration of a key term (technology, vulnerability, resilience) related to climate change; plus, graphs, data, and a "speculative vignette about the future." In a New York Times interview, Psaros says, "using art and storytelling to talk about the science and policy, was a way to hopefully make the issue more accessible to a broader range of people." Students and faculty will be enthralled – and hopefully prompted to act. Extensive notes, image sources, and a helpful index are included.

Although changes (in ocean chemistry, extreme weather, warming waters and rising sea levels) along the coasts is the focus of THE ATLAS OF DISAPPEARING PLACES, Dan Egan has written an excellent feature for The New York Times about Chicago's struggles with changing water levels: "A Battle between a Great City and a Great Lake." Also of possible interest is a New Yorker article written by Bill McKibben – it deals with a variety of climate issues and part is an interview with Conklin about creating THE ATLAS OF DISAPPEARING PLACES.

Links in live post:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/07/07/climate/chicago-river-lake-michigan.html
https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-a-warming-planet/its-time-to-kick-gas

This book attempts to explain some of the effects of climate change on the coastal areas of the world, as rising sea levels and increasingly devastating storms become a greater concern. The book is divided into four parts, and covers 20 different places that may encounter climate-related issues in the future.

Part 1 discusses the ways that reliance on fossil fuels and the growing plastic pollution is changing the chemistry of the oceans. Part 2 analyzes data about deadly storms, and how to better prepare for them in the future. Part 3 talks about the warming water temperatures and what the effects on our ecosystems could be. Part 4 discusses the tipping points of rising sea levels and the combination of all of the other factors.

The book uses the analogy of the human body in many places, comparing warming temperatures to having a fever, and tropical storms to outbreaks of disease. This was a strange choice of analogy to me, but I was able to understand the points made. I personally thought that the raw data and diagrams would've been effective enough at communicating the urgency of the situation though.

There are many colorful and informative charts and diagrams in the book, many that depicted data in a way that I'd never seen before. This data is very helpful in understanding the problems these areas face. Overall I found this book to be informative, although somewhat disorganized, and the human body analogy seemed a bit forced. It is still worth reading though if you are interested in this subject.

It's an interesting collection of disasters around the world. I guess may have something to do with climate change, but who knows for sure. There seemed to be many typos in my Kindle edition, but it may have just been a bad download. it seems well researched and thoughtful book. And may make a good addition to a collection on climate. I'm not disputing the disasters, just not convinced of there origin in climate change. Much of the weather and climate on this planet is still not well understood and there are records that show cyclical climate changes. As for places disappearing along the coasts due to glaciers melting and oceans rising, it's not happening. Land absorbs a great deal of water as ground water, so there is hope. And The polar caps and glaciers will return in due time, I'm sure. Still, the book was worth my time to read and covered events in more detail than I had found elsewhere.

This was a grim and depressing glimpse into the realities of what is happening to our planet and what should be done to make drastic changes. This book is a wake-up call, for sure. It is necessary reading and should be taken seriously. I am not so worried for myself about the current conditions on the planet, but living in California now, wildfires are a very real threat. I am more concerned for my young nephews and then when they have children. What will living conditions be like on the planet? How many trees will be left (that are vital for oxygen)? Will there be any polar ice left or will coastal states and countries be mostly underwater?

This topics in this book and what is discussed are heavy strong global issues. Recommended reading for everyone.

Buying this at publishing to add to my climatology collection.

Thanks to Netgalley, Christina Conklin, Maria Psaros and The New Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 7/31/21