Monday, January 2, 2017

Greenland is as big as ...








Having an accurate worldview doesn't happen automatically.  In the Mercator projection map here, the world is warped to match the European view at the time it was created.  Although grossly inaccurate, it's the one still used in classrooms and textbooks.

The equal area projection shows relative land area accurately.  Among the errors made visible, South America and Africa are appropriately larger than formerly presented.  India is correctly bigger than Alaska, and Africa is almost twice the size of Russia.

The view from directly above the equator gives a better
perspective; Brazil is the world's 5th largest country.
The Brazilian ecosystem is larger than most countries, and it contains perhaps greater biodiversity than any other place on earth. Studies suggest it has greater significance in planetary atmospherics than that of any other country in the world.

Curious what difference it makes?
Rainforests are often called the lungs of the planet for their role in absorbing carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, and producing oxygen, upon which all animals depend for survival. Rainforests also stabilize climate, house incredible amounts of plants and wildlife, and produce nourishing rainfall all around the planet.  The Amazon basin contains 60% of the world's remaining rainforests.  And when you realize the actual size, you see the difference it makes, perhaps.

There are bigger and more important things than reality tv.  ðŸ˜Ž Some of the Kardashians have been to Brazil, but probably not for the eco-stuff.