99 Maps to Save the Planet

by Katapult Magazine, Chris Packham (Introduction), Jefferson Chase (Translator)

'Terrifying yet funny, surprising yet predictable, simple yet poignant' Chris Packham
How much of the earth's surface has been concreted over? How much of our energy still comes from burning coal? How many trees would we have to plant to make our planet carbon-neutral? How much space do we need to satisfy all our energy needs through wind and solar power?
The maps in this book are often shocking, sometimes amusing, and packed with essential information. Did you know that just 67 companies worldwide are responsible for 67 per cent of global greenhouse emissions? Or that keeping a horse has the same carbon footprint as a 23,500-kilometre road trip? Did you know how many countries use less energy than is consumed globally by downloading porn from the internet?
Presenting a vast amount of scientific research and data in stunning, beautiful infographics, 99 Maps to Save the Planet provides us with instant snapshots of the destruction of our environment. At one glance, we can see the precarious state of our planet - but also realise how easy it would be to improve it
Enlightening, a bit frightening, but definitely inspiring, 99 Maps to Save the Planet doesn't provide practical tips on how to save our planet: it just presents the facts. And the facts speak for themselves. Once we know them, what excuse do we have for failing to act?

Genres: Nonfiction, Environment, Climate Change, Social Science

208 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2020

About the author

Katapult Magazine is a popular science magazine founded in March 2015 , which almost exclusively uses infographics and maps for illustration.

Reviews

[Sara Limona · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mmm!

Light, informative, Funny in some points, and shockable in others.

But ok, it's cool")

[Jess Woods · Rating 4 out of 5]

EYE OPENING; the graphics give you a better comprehension of the facts that you've read. If you're looking to learn about the climate crisis but don't know where to start, I think this is a great step.

[Freya · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5
First book of 2022 and it did not disappoint. Visuals are incredibly powerful when communicating an issue as complex and abstract as the climate crisis, and at several point this book had me muttering 'wow' to myself at some of the depictions of things I'd always known but never quite been able to understand the scale of. Particularly liked how this book had a strong focus on the justice issue of climate change by visually highlighting global inequalities in resource consumption and production. I was however disappointed that I got through the whole book without indigenous people once being mentioned, considering the indigenous struggle is so important to achieving a world more in harmony with nature- maybe a land map showing what percentage of the world's natural areas is stewarded by indigenous people would've really helped highlight the important role they have in us learning from them about how to live within ecological boundaries. I also felt that although this book aimed to keep things as simple as possible, at points I felt it fell into the trap of not having enough detail on its stats- e.g. for the stat on keeping a dog/cat/horse is that over a year or over its entire lifetime? Also think it would've been useful to have a short box on each page/short text on each page discussing what the stat meant and how it was derived, would've been very useful starting point for anyone wanting to reference these stats in a context that needs to be academic rather than having to sift through pages of the original source. Overall loved it and will be sharing it around- it's short reading length makes it very accessible to be read by lots of people to get a basic understanding of the issue!

[Adam Chamberlain · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Terrifying yet funny, surprising yet predictable, simple yet poignant, occasionally abstract and yet so very, very important — this collection of infographics presents a telling picture of out planet at the beginning of the twenty-first century. There is both a ruthless clarity and beautiful precision in the design... They tell the truth: a truth we must confront to enable change; indeed, they have been conceived to change our minds and they leave us with no doubt that without success in this regard we are doomed."

Chris Packham's introduction summarises the book well. It is a brisk read given its format, but clearly much care went into visualising the stories behind every page and their implications are, in many cases, quite profound. A useful resource to tell powerful stories about what humans have done and continue to do to the planet and the nature with which we share it, and a tool to promote both reflection and a call to action.

[Paula Street · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent book in many ways, that has been let down by a few very poor editorial/design choices. For example:

1) 98 of the 99 maps are entirely family friendly and could be read and discussed with any age group and across generations. One map and the associated text includes specific facts about internet porn, even though it is a side note to the main point being made. This one inclusion of an unnecessary minor point means that this book is not suitable for everyone, and could not be used, for example, in primary school libraries.

2) Some of the maps have dark green or dark blue text on black or grey background, so you can see that the text is there, but it is impossible to read in detail.

It is such a shame that a book that I would otherwise love, recommend widely, and buy as a gift, has been spoiled by such style choices. It could so easily have been so much better.

[JournalsTLY]

We have read many of these climate change information in our news. Here is a book that puts some of the key (and some a tad humourous) information into succinct maps.

Other than the major maps on deforestation, habitat lost, plastics in the seas; look out for maps of:

- the spread off raccoons and climate change
- every 3rd piece of rubbish in the sea is a cigarette butt
- the natural distribution of teh coconut tree

(coconut = hydrochoria)

- annual toilet paper consumption per bottom in kilos ( teh kilos refer to the toilet paper and not the bottoms)

[Katie Cat Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nonfiction. Infographs. Science.

Each double page spread offers statistics of information around the world, including climate change, catastrophes shopping and more.

Written my magazine journals, sources are cited in the back. Infographs provide visually enlightening Info to readers of all ages.

Really enjoyed. Informative. Recommend to all.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought provoking sprinkled with a little bit of sarcasm and fun. I picked up this book on a whim when visiting a local library and I’m glad I did. There’s something about seeing facts in front of you that makes them land differently to just reading about them in print. It’s given me a lot to think about.

[Lili · Rating 5 out of 5]

love me some climate anxiety

[Sarah K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliantly portrayed information

[Anetq · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun with maps - and serious business...

[Ivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting facts, but infographics sometimes are misleading or just hard to read. Otherwise, that's a cool read for a train trip or while you wait in a line.

[Dougie Mathers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of interesting environmental information . However I didn't always find the presentation of information straightforward and,therefore, it was difficult to understand what it meant.

[Kadi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great little read. Very visual, could see this useful explaining natures resources and climate change to youngsters.

[Tom Winstanley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pithy and self explanatory set of maps with some truly profound implications.

My one criticism is that the maps are more focused on building awareness of the issues and that the book could have contained more "directional" maps on what we need to do tomorrow.. exceptions to this included the views on maps showing the amount of solar desert, or oceanic windfarms we would require to power the planet and similar, but these are - in fairness - now pretty well understood.

It is a good provocative and informative read, but the title is a bit of an exaggeration!