mapping essentials
Marking the Line in Arid Climates
Online Mapping Tools
The effects of climate change are not reserved for those near the coasts – extreme weather, shrinking and rising water tables, and flooding from rivers and underground aquifers is a serious issue across the globe. Explore and discuss this issue by visualizing potential impacts in a nearby park, concrete area or parking lot in your community or near your school.
Surging Seas Map
USGS Topo Map
sealevel.climatecentral.org
nationalmap.gov/ustopo
Alex Tingle Flood Map
FEMA Flood Maps Map service center
flood.firetree.net
Google Map
You can reference and gather inspiration from a project FLASH FLOOD co-led by the Santa Fe Art Institute, in coordination with Bill McKibben’s 350.org held at the Santa Fe River at San Ysidro Crossing on November 20, 2010. The project enlisted 3,000 community members to carry and flip blue-painted recycled cardboard to compose a ‘flash flood’ in the typically dry riverbed. sfai.org/flashflood.html
maps.google.com
Community Walk Map communitywalk.com
msc.fema.gov
Note: • Surging Seas and Alex Tingle maps are set up to calculate sea level rise for you. • The other maps are tools for charting your selected sea level rise route yourself. • You can also get hard copies of topographic maps online, at local office of emergency management or make copies at your local library. • Using the flood.firetree.net website you can raise sea level up to 60 meters (which will never happen in our lifetime), but it gives you a good sense of the variations of the potential impacts to different areas in terms of storm surge levels and flooding. Understanding the science behind sea level globally will assist in communicating to the public about potential impacts. See Resources in Section VII.
Mapping suggestions from Eve You will need to decide how many miles of line marking you can achieve in a specified period of time; and how much funding and resources you will need to make it all happen. Depending on your material and size of your team you can mark anywhere from about 2 miles to 5 miles per day. You could plan to do the project over several months or select a key location(s) to do it where there are many people passing by who you can encounter over a one or two day period. You can use a printed topographic map or satellite map and hand draw your planned route or create your map online using the “My Map” feature on Google Maps, or any of the other recommended self guided maps. If you
Stage 2
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Stage 2
cannot easily walk around the neighborhood or projected route, you can create your own 10-foot water line simulation around your school or in a local parking lot. You also will need to decide if you will mark sea level rise projections in your area for 2020, 2050, 2100, or mark the projected flood line, which could be much higher. Whichever line offers the most visual significance and is the most accessible in terms of comprehension for your community without being overly dramatic will obviously encourage informed discussions on how climate change will play out in our lives.
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