A Geopolitical and Geovisualization Challenge: Increasing the Awareness of Global Environmental Change through Postage Stamp Issues

Abstract

Global environmental change is one of the major distinguishing features associated with the contemporary world political map. It is significant not only because it illustrates the intersections between geopolitics and environmental change, but also because identifying the major environmental features and solving existing and future problems are primarily political in nature. Key features of global environmental change include global warming impacts on the poleward shifts in biodiversity and agricultural patterns, rising sea levels and human adjustments, changing coastal habitats, and promoting increased environmental awareness especially in urban clusters, where most people live. In the contemporary geopolitical and environmental world, visualization is a key feature not only used to inform both planetary inhabitants, environmental organizations and governments, but also serves as an effective policy, that is, to “show” or demonstrate effective changes and the need for action. States are key institutions in this thinking as they can both inform and address the impacts of global environmental change through various images: maps, earth-based photographs, satellite coverage, websites and educational venues including curriculum content and stamps. Visual geopolitics is already recognized as being an important source influencing public opinion, as evidenced in the attractive visible layouts, graphics, colors, often “seductive” designing of official websites. Postage stamps is an additional important and “informing” visible way that states inform both insiders and outsiders about how they “see” their place in the world. They also provide a view into how a state sees its “own” place in the world of environmental change and how it sees “the world beyond its own borders”. I introduce the concept of “visual geopolitics” and use recent postage stamp issues about global environmental change from a number of countries to illustrate how they are informing views of their own and the world about pressing environmental issues.