The level of detail on this National Geographic map is really astonishing. It's actually quite beautiful, but it elicits - in me, at least - a certain degree of despair.
Showing posts with label human footprint. Show all posts
Showing posts with label human footprint. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Human Footprint: Africa
Here's another human footprint map. This one's of Africa:
The level of detail on this National Geographic map is really astonishing. It's actually quite beautiful, but it elicits - in me, at least - a certain degree of despair.
The level of detail on this National Geographic map is really astonishing. It's actually quite beautiful, but it elicits - in me, at least - a certain degree of despair.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
The Human Footprint
We wears some big shoes!
If, all Matrix-style, you see humanity as a corrosive parasite, a life-destroying succubus on Mama Gaia, then this is a picture of the damage we've wrought: the colors towards the alarming end of the spectrum indicate areas where we've thoroughly obliterated the legacy of nature. Think landfills; parking lots; acres of homogenous monoculture bending off towards the horizon.
I, for one, don't have quite such a dire view of things, mainly because I figure most of what we've built and continue to build is likely to prove impermanent - the proverbial blip on the geological record.. Picture what the human footprint will look like 10,000 years after we're gone: a few pale dots here and there to indicate piles of rubble - our erstwhile great cities. Over the long run, our species' motto might well ought to be: "Humanity: No Big Whoop."
In the meantime, though...
If, all Matrix-style, you see humanity as a corrosive parasite, a life-destroying succubus on Mama Gaia, then this is a picture of the damage we've wrought: the colors towards the alarming end of the spectrum indicate areas where we've thoroughly obliterated the legacy of nature. Think landfills; parking lots; acres of homogenous monoculture bending off towards the horizon.
I, for one, don't have quite such a dire view of things, mainly because I figure most of what we've built and continue to build is likely to prove impermanent - the proverbial blip on the geological record.. Picture what the human footprint will look like 10,000 years after we're gone: a few pale dots here and there to indicate piles of rubble - our erstwhile great cities. Over the long run, our species' motto might well ought to be: "Humanity: No Big Whoop."
In the meantime, though...
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