Mapping stories
31 MAPS OF 2018
2018
These maps were inspired by the drawing challenge “Inktober”, where people do one drawing a day. Each day has a “theme” to help inspire sketches. As a Geographer and lover of maps, I decided to take on this challenge to draw a map of a relevant current event or concern. All of my drawings are my own and posted on my twitter @sahokoyui. Click here for more information about Inktober.
Roasted: Mendocino Complex Fire Progression. The Mendocino Complex Fire was the largest history recorded in California’s history. This only shows the fire till mid-August. The fire was not fully contained till mid-September. Data from Inciweb.
In this project I asked the following question:
What are the key issue that can be visualized through a map and what can I learn from the process?
Key findings:
2018 was a devastating year for natural disasters, the intensity and frequency of natural disasters if expected to increase. Vulnerable areas will be the most impacted from the effects of climate change.
Drawing maps at different scales (local - regional - global) reveals that we, and the systems we live in, are all interconnected.
Detailed learnings from each individual map is included in captions of the maps.
Happy International Octopus Day! Octopus population has increased since the 1950s. Scientist speculate that it’s because they adapt quickly and their predators have disappeared due to fishing. Data from National Geographic.
Cruel. Map of Indian Reservations, Japanese Internment Camps, Detention Centers, and Detention Centers with children. History continues to repeat itself. Data from Washington Post and Atlantic’s CityLab.
Exhausted. Due to rising nighttime temperatures we could have 18 days of sleepless nights a month by 2099. The MidWest would be affected the most. Data from Obradovich et al 2017.
Supreme Court confirmation of Kavanaugh. Climate change impact and states that voted for Kavanaugh. The South is expected to suffer the most from climate change. Kavanaugh’s skepticism of the EPA could be the most detrimental for the very states that voted for him. Data from NYT.
A World of Waste. The FAO estimates that 1/3 of all edible food goes uneaten in the world. Europe and North America wastes 280 - 300 kg/year per capita. In comparison, Sub-Saharan Africa and South/Southeast Asia wastes approximately half that at 120-170 kg/year per capita. This comes at a time when over 800 million people in the world are malnourished. Data from FAO.
Global Temperature. The most recent IPCC report states the dangers of exceeding 2C global temperature. They have already changed significantly in my dad’s lifetime (70 years - my dad was born 1948). Data from NASA.
World Food Day. Most food waste happens at the consumer level. In the US over 40% of food that goes uneaten happens at the consumer level, approximately 115 kg/year per capita. This is over 100 kg/year compared to the county that wastes the least amounts of food (Sub Saharan Africa and South/Southeast Asia 10 kg/year per capita). Data from FAO.
Guarded. Ten controversial border walls in the world with the length, date first built, and the location. Despite studies showing that border walls are expensive and ineffective, in the past 15 years over 6,000 miles of walls have been built. Data from The Guardian Rice-Oxley 2013
Whale. Blue whale habitat overlaid with location of macroplastics. Blue whales pretty much live everywhere, so does plastic. Data from National Geographic and Eriksen et al 2014.
Tranquil: Academic Sexual Misconduct. Water is often associated with tranquility but I used it to color in the dots of sexual misconduct in academia. A lot of brilliant and amazing researchers and instructors have left academia because of their experience. Data from Geocognition Research lab.
Series of October Violence - map 1: events in a deadly week in October. Last week 14 pipe bombs were discovered, all sent to prominent Trump critics. Also, 2 black people were killed in a Louiseville grocery store and there was a shooting at a synagogue that killed 11 people. This map shows the location of the shootings, bombs, and the number of people per hate group per state. Data from the Southern Law Poverty Center.
Series of October Violence - map 2: Pipe bombs. A total of 14 bombs were mailed to prominent Trump critics. Packages were sent to Barack Obama (DC), Joe Biden (DE), Hillary Clinton (NY), Maxine Waters (DC and LA), Cory Booker (NJ), John Brennan (NY), James Clapper (NY), Kamala Harris (CA), George Soros (NY), and Tom Steyer (CA). Data from CNN.
Series of October Violence - map 3: Total Mass shootings. Number of people killed from mass shootings in 2018 as of 10.28.2018 per state. A mass shooting is defined as four or more shot and/or killed in a single incident, not including the shooter. Florida, California and Pennsylvania have the highest number of deaths. Data from Gun Violence Archive.
Series of October Violence - map 4: Mass shootings per capita. Map of the number of people per mass shooting incident in each state. Illinois, Alabama, Tennessee, and Louisiana have the highest rate of mass shootings. While California and Texas has more total deaths, when normalized by population it is much lower than states in the midwest/south. Data from Gun Violence Archive.
Series of October Violence - map 5: Hate groups. Map of the of people per hate group per state (colors) and the numbers of hate groups in each state (numbers). CA, FL, TX, NY, and GA have the highest number of hate groups while SD, MO, ID, NH, and TN have the have the highest number of hate groups per capita. Data from Southern Poverty Law Center.
Series of October Violence - map 6: Pittsburgh homicides. Map of deaths in Pittsburgh from shootings (2016-2018). Earlier this year Pittsburgh celebrated a gun violence dropping to a 12-year low. Data shows that shootings happen primarily in lower income communities of color. The shooting at the synanogue happened in Squirrel Hill - a neighborhood where homicides are rare. Data from Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Paperbark Tree. Indigenous lands and population on Melaleuca tree bark, aka paperbark tree. Melaleuca sheds paper-like bark that was used widely by the Indigenous population in Australia for bandages, cooking, and sleeping. Data from Monash University and Saberi et al 2015.
Broken. Map of current civil wars with death tolls, numbers displaced and numbers of refugees. Size of the circle represents the relative number of deaths. Over 75% of the population is in need of assistance to fight famine, cholera, displacement, and armed conflict. Yemen is considered the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Click here to see how you can help.
Ceanothus distribution. Ceanothus distribution on a Ceanothus cookie. Ceanothus is endemic to North America and reaches to Canada and even as far south as Guatemala. Ceanothus seeds are fire adaptive and it’s leaves and branches were widely used by Native Americans for tea and baskets. Data from Burge et al 2011.
Chicken. Egg production on an egg. China produces A LOT of eggs! Next is India the US. Data from Windhorst 2016.
Resilience of vegetation. This is a map of the age of a ceanothus. I traced each ring, about 30, on this cookie. This is about double the average life expectancy of a ceanothus. You can tell the drought in California affected the growth the last few years.
Clock. Time is running out to address climate change. Map of earthquake potential and sea level rise. Sea level rise will raise groundwater levels in low lying coastal areas, causing it to be more vulnerable to liquefaction damage in future earthquake events. Data from the Union of Concerned Scientists and the Association of Bay Area Governments Resilience Program.
Endangered fish. The Delta smelt is an endangered species, it’s population has been declining for the past few decades. Warmer water could stress the Delta Smelt particularly during the juvenile stage. Map shows critical habitat. Data from Fish and Wildlife Service.
2017 Napa Fires. Map of the extent of fires and origin of each fire. It’s been one year since the fires that devasted Northern California. Over 145,000 acres burned in the Atlas, Tubbs, and Nuns fire (shown here). Over 40 lives lost and thousands lost their homes. Data from San Francisco Chronicle.
Hurricane Michael. With rising ocean temperature and sea level, impact from hurricanes are expected to intensify. Data from NOAA.
Scorched. Fire and Landslide Risk. Severe fires decrease the ability of soil to absorb water (from several inches per hour to a 1/3 of an inch per hour) making post-fire areas susceptible to landslides. Coastal California has the highest risk. Data from American Geophysical Union and California Public Utilities Commission.
Poison: Death Cap. Death Cap (Amanita Phalloides) is a deadly mushroom that has been used in deaths of the Roman Emperor Claudius and Holy Roman Emperor Charles. Data from Pringle and Vellinga 2006.
Felony disenfranchisement. Map of Felony disenfranchisement by state and competitive senate vote map. Most of the competitive states have strict laws against felons voting, even after they’ve done their time. Data from ACLU.
Brazil Presidential Election 2018. Map of states that voted for Haddad and state wealth. Haddad, like Lula, advocates for the poor, people of color, and other marginalized groups. He won the votes of some of the poorest states in Brazil, while Bolsonaro won the wealthiest states. Data from the BBC.
Spell: California’s dry spell. Despite the heavy rains we got last year 80% of California is still considered in a drought. The Data from drought.gov