Why change the world map?
The UN adopted the African Union's proposal to stop using the Mercator map and switch to the Equal Earth map, which shows true proportions of the continents. Prof. Gideon Biger from Tel Aviv University explains the distortions inherent in any flat mapping of the Earth, and why the move faced US opposition.
About two weeks ago, the UN adopted the African Union's proposal to stop using the 16th-century Mercator map and switch to the Equal Earth map, which presents the continents in their true proportions. Prof. Gideon Biger from the Department of Geography at Tel Aviv University explains that the Mercator map was created for maritime navigation, and its distortions cause Greenland to appear larger than Africa, even though it is barely 10% of the continent. Russia and Canada also appear larger than they really are. The United States opposed the change, arguing it was a waste of time and energy to address an ideological problem instead of the world's real issues. The move was led by African countries, which claimed the continent looks small and therefore receives less consideration. Biger explains that transitioning from a round globe to a flat map is impossible to do accurately, and while the new map better displays the areas of the continents, it has other distortions regarding directions and distances between countries.