Earths Environment at Risk

The Earths Environment is at risk, and National Geographic has been on the front lines of getting the information on this out to the public. From as way back as the 1970s their magazines, documentaries and map inserts have supplied information on our endangered earth. I am placing on this page all the geographical maps produced by National Geographic that deals with this important subject.

Click on Map Titles that are Links to see a Picture of that map.

1. How Man Pollutes His World - December 1970 (42"x29") This map identifies and graphically demonstrates how human activities impact our earths environment. This map insert put out by National Geographic in 1970, is amazing in that it touches on things that is on many peoples minds now, but was published over 35 years back in time. It has a graphic presentation of issues surrounding pollution, a detailed inset showing the life forms that exist at various elevations, an inset showing world population in 1970 with projections to 2000 and beyond and an inset demonstrating the food chain.

2. Endangered Earth Map - December 1988 (46"x29")
Side A: This physical map published on the 100th anniversary of the National Geographic society is a primer for the issues and challenges surrounding our endangered earth. There are insets showing the Ice Age vegetation 18,000 years ago, and greenhouse-effect vegetation zones. There is an inset showing a Peru-Ecuador upwelling showing how rapidly the oceans can change and an inset of a Minnesota Borreal forest and the pressures on it from human intervention. It has a timeline entitled "People and planet: A troubled partnership" and a spectacular graphic showing population growth from 16,000 B.C. to the present. It shows how advances in agriculture and public health have enabled the population to burgeon.

3. Africa Threatened - December 1990 (28.5"x22")
Side B: This map illustrates the serious threats to the earths environment, in particular the African fauna and wildlife. In the center is a large physical map of Africa color coded to show the different vegetation zones. Marked on it are  the locations of endangered and vulnerable animals using red and yellow labels. All around the outside of the map are insets of thirteen case studies of endangered animals with pictures. On the left side are two small inset maps of Africa showing human population and dominant land use.

4. Amazonia: A World Resource at Risk - August 1992 (28"x20")
Side A: This side has a beautiful physical map of the Amazon in Brazil that is color coded to show the biodiversity of the vegetation here. On the right side is a huge illustration of a rainforest tree with the animals and insects located where they reside in the different levels of the canopy. There is an inset map showing how the land is being developed and two insets of trees in the lowland forest and flooded forest.

5. Water Precious Resource map - November 1993 (43"x30")
Side B: This has a huge physical map of the USA and Southern Canada showing all the waterways. All around the outside are maps and insets filled with information on surface water, ground water, water pollution and water usage. It contains facts on water use in agriculture, to make electricity, in industry and more. This map helps show how our water usage effects the earths environment.

7. Millennium in Maps:Population & Resources - October 1998 (31"x20")
Side B: The major portion of this side is filled with a huge physical map of the world. For each continent it shows population increase, income per capita, energy consumption, fresh water availability, cropland and carbon dioxide emissions. It shows the locations of fires, fishing fleets, human settlement lights and natural gas flares. On the bottom are two inset maps showing population density, and population and income.

8. Millennium in maps: Biodiversity - February 1999 (31"x20")
Side A: The center has a  beautiful physical map of the world color coded to show the global forest distribution. The write-up which accompanies this map titled "Earth's Forest: Have we Overdrawn our Account" asks questions about the destruction of the worlds forest. Many other articles and illustrations are included on this side talking about the threats to the biodiversity of this land and the work being done on conservation and research of our earths environment. The map has many beautiful illustrations..

9. Millennium in maps: Diversity of Life - February 1999 (31"x20")
Side B: This side has a huge physical map of the world color coded to show fifteen different vegetation zones like tundra, desert and dry shrub, mountain grassland, etc. All around the map are notes and beautiful  illustrations of the wildlife and insects that inhabit different regions of our earths environment. There are also two inset maps of the world titled Plant Productivity July through September and January through March. The maps are color coded to show plant production during these times.

10. Australia Under Siege - July 2000 (31"x20")
Side A: This map contains two beautiful physical maps of Australia, one showing Australia 200 years ago and one of Australia today. Both maps are color coded to show how the vegetation over the landscape has changed during this time span. It is filled with informative notes and inset maps showing the earths environment, soil, climate, vegetation changes, introduced game animals, potential for disastrous bushfires, grazing land and mining.

11. A World Transformed - September 2002 (31"x20")
Side A:  This physical world map clearly demonstrates the impact us humans are having on the earths enviroment. The map is color coded to show the human impact on the land for urban development, agriculture and grazing. It is also color coded to show where the coal, natural gas and oil reserves are, and showing what countries are leading in wind, solar, hydroelectric and geothermal alternative energy sources. It uses color shading to show major protected areas or natural world heritage sites, and where world heritage sites and frontier forest are threatened. It also uses color shading to show coral reefs, coral reef hot spots in danger, dead zones, mangroves, and marine protected areas. The map contains sections titled Oceans at risk, The Air We Breath, Alien Invasion, Earth's Vulnerable Soils, Missing the Forest for the Trees, Energy Bingo and A Warmer World.

12. A Thirsty Planet - September 2002 (31"x20")
Side B: The worlds water supply is dwindling and this side clearly shows this in a huge physical map. It is color coded to show the annual renewable water sources and how much water they are producing. Also marked on the map are the critical areas where the sources of water is a major concern. All around the outside are insets of water hot spots such as the Colorado River Basin-Demand exceeds supply, Tigris & Euphrates Watershed-Whose water is it, Murray-Darling Watershed-Salty soils, Yangtze River Basin-Monumental gamble, Lake Chad-Africa's vanishing lake and Parana River Basin-River or canal. This is another fine map showing how our water usage is effecting our earths environment.

13. Changing Climate - October 2007 (31"x20")
Side A: This map is dedicated to showing how the changing climate is effecting our earths enviroment. This side is divided into three sections, the top part of which shows a physical map of the world color coded to show how much the temperature has changed over the surface of the Earth between 1976 and 2005. The middle section also has a physical map of the world color coded to show the percent of change in average annual precipitation between 1976 and 2005. The bottom section has a chart showing how the world will feel the heat in the areas of water, food, health, coasts and ecosystems.

14. Greenhouse Earth - October 2007 (31"x20")
Side B: This side has a chart showing how the sun hits the earth and reflects back, how greenhouse gases warm the earth and showing how much greenhouse gases are being emitted by different sources like electricity and heat, land-use change, agriculture, transportation, industry, other fuel combustion, equipment leaks, landfills/sewage and industrial processes. It has charts on the right showing a warmer future in temperature, showing population demands, and CO2's modern imprint. On the bottom is a chart showing the changes in sea levels, temperature and CO2 levels over the last 400,000 years.

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