Map of BC's "Petrofuture" shows sea-level rise in 1,000 years

A map imagining BC in a drowned world aims at petroleum companies and their contributions to climate change and sea-level rise.

Artist Jeffrey Linn’s Petrofuture series “is a work of parody… taking old pieces of oil company advertising and propaganda, and turning it back on itself,” wrote Linn on the maps.

“Using vintage gas station maps as a base, I add 66 meters of sea-level rise, the highest predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) if all the ice sheets melt.”

Courtesy of Jeffrey Linn

“It’s both sad and satisfying to use these maps to show the ultimate effects of the use of fossil fuels.”

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The first map shows the entire province of British Columbia. At first, it looks straightforward and familiar – until you notice the southern portions of Vancouver Island and the Mainland.

Courtesy of Jeffrey Linn

On the vintage Shell Gasoline map, you can see that Victoria and Vancouver are underwater. Vancouver Island has shrunk significantly and the rising ocean has caused the Fraser River to eat up most of the surrounding land.

Another map in the series takes a closer look at what’s left of Vancouver in 1,000 years as the city is transformed into an island.

Courtesy of Jeffrey Linn

Linn spoke to Daily Hive Urbanized in 2021 about his cartography when a map showing future sea-level rise reimagining Vancouver placenames went viral.

“These maps can highlight a lot of the landforms we take for granted in the places we live,” he said.

All his sea-level rise maps show what it would look like when all the ice sheets in the world have melted 1,000 years in the future.

But it’s not just the rising ocean that can cause concern.

“Drought, displacement, and, of course, extreme heat waves, are all things that are happening now, and may be more dangerous than sea-level rise,” said Linn.

You can follow his work on Conspiracy of Cartographers and look out for his next project.

With files from Daily Hive Staff.