Our planet is in peril. Seas are rising, oceans are acidifying, ice is melting, coasts are flooding, species are dying, and communities are faltering. Despite these dire circumstances, most people don’t have a clear sense of how the many interacting crises in our ocean are affecting the climate system, food webs, coastal cities, and biodiversity, and what solutions could help us co-create a better future.

Through a rich combination of place-based storytelling, accessible science writing, compelling graphics, and beautifully rendered maps that use a unique ink-on-dried-seaweed technique, The Atlas of Disappearing Places depicts twenty locations across the globe, from Shanghai and Antarctica to Houston and the Cook Islands. The authors describe four climate change impacts  -- changing chemistry, warming waters, strengthening storms, and rising seas -- using the metaphor of the ocean as a body to draw parallels between natural systems and human systems. Each chapter paints a portrait of an existential threat in a particular place, detailing what will be lost if we do not take bold action now.  Weaving together contemporary stories and speculative “future histories” for each place, this work considers both the serious consequences if we continue to pursue business as usual,  and what we can do—from government policies to grassroots activism—to write a different, more hopeful story. 

A beautiful work of art and an indispensable resource to learn more about the devastating consequences of the climate crisis as well as possibilities for individual and collective action, The Atlas of Disappearing Places will engage and inspire readers on the most pressing issue of our time.