A Note from the Editors

The climate is changing and we’re running out of time to avoid irrevocable damage. It’s clear that we’re in trouble, but instead of coming together to protect the planet for future generations, we find ourselves in the midst of stark division, led by politicians who refuse to acknowledge that a problem even exists.

For our part, as an open-source experiment in interactive publishing, we are doing what we can to clarify a problem that is exacerbated by its size, its technicality, and its apparent distance from our everyday lives. To create this second issue, we invited writers to produce new works of interactive non-fiction that utilize data and graphics to tell highly visual stories that are as native to the web as the JPEG.

The articles explore the gamut of our climate’s past, present, and future, exploring not only what has happened (and is happening) but also what should happen, and what we as citizens should do to realize that future. In this issue you will find a personalized history of Earth’s CO2 record, a close look at disturbances in the floodplains in the Mekong Delta, an analysis of how YouTube and other digital streaming services impact the environment, along with critiques on potential carbon sequestration methods and an exploration of the corporations that are most responsible for getting us to where we are today.

While it is a difficult topic, we hope that you walk away from this issue feeling more informed, more prepared, and more equipped to effect positive change.

Your Parametric Press Editors,
Matthew Conlen, Fred Hohman, Sara Stalla