The politics of zoom: Problems with downscaling climate visualizations
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Authors
Schneider, Birgit
Walsh, Lynda
Issue Date
2019
Type
Article
Language
en_US
Keywords
climate change , connectivity , downscaling , climate services , climate visualization , spherical , synopticism , zoom
Alternative Title
Abstract
Following the mandate in the Paris Agreement for signatories to provide "climate services" to their constituents, "downscaled" climate visualizations are proliferating. But the process of downscaling climate visualizations does not neutralize the political problems with their synoptic global sources-namely, their failure to empower communities to take action and their replication of neoliberal paradigms of globalization. In this study we examine these problems as they apply to interactive climate-visualization platforms, which allow their users to localize global climate information to support local political action. By scrutinizing the political implications of the "zoom" tool from the perspective of media studies and rhetoric, we add to perspectives of cultural cartography on the issue of scaling from our fields. Namely, we break down the cinematic trope of "zooming" to reveal how it imports the political problems of synopticism to the level of individual communities. As a potential antidote to the politics of zoom, we recommend a downscaling strategy of connectivity, which associates rather than reduces situated views of climate to global ones.
Description
Citation
Schneider, B., & Walsh, L. (2019). The politics of zoom: Problems with downscaling climate visualizations. Geo: Geography and Environment, 6(1), e00070. doi:10.1002/geo2.70
Publisher
Geo: Geography and Environment
License
Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
Journal
Volume
Issue
PubMed ID
DOI
ISSN
2054-4049