Postcards have a fascinating history: since their inception in the 1860s, they have been a low-cost way of exchanging brief messages, without the need for formal stationery, envelopes, and postage stamps. Even today, many travelers around the world still write out short missives on postcards depicting a picture-perfect version of the places they visit, before sending them off to friends and family back home.
But what if a changing climate irreparably alters these beautiful destinations? What would these climate impacts look like in the postcards of an ecologically uncertain future?
In a clever and sobering twist on a long-standing tradition, American artist Hannah Rothstein has created a series of thought-provoking postcards that would more accurately reflect the devastating changes that the climate crisis is wreaking upon each state. Titled “50 States of Change,” the project was done in collaboration with Greenpeace USA, and is intended as a potentially Internet-viral alternative to writing a letter to one’s elected representatives in various levels of government. As Rothstein tells us:
Rothstein’s postcards have all the usual elements of a postcard, but upon closer inspection, one sees that there are variations on the themes of human-induced ecological disasters: melting glaciers and permafrost in Alaska; increasingly severe wildfires in California, Idaho, and Montana; and more flooding in states like Georgia, Florida, and North Carolina.
To create a sense of accuracy and urgency in these images, Rothstein says that she relied on scientific evidence that is widely available to the public:
It took Rothstein about a year to complete the series of digital images. Though Rothstein had experience creating viral art for some years now, she needed help to craft an awareness campaign that would get people to actually send these provocative postcards to politicians, and to disseminate them on social media.
To that end, Rothstein partnered with Greenpeace USA to develop strategies on how these postcards might be used and shared more widely. As Greenpeace USA’s senior communications specialist Tyler Kruse explained to Treehugger, art projects such as Rothstein’s could help to inform the public and prompt more action at higher levels of government:
In conjunction with the postcard project, Kruse adds that Greenpeace has also launched other tools to give citizens and grassroots organizations more information:
Ultimately, Rothstein hopes that these postcards can be a visual reminder of what is at stake, and for people to use them as a vehicle to agitate for broader change:
To see more, check out Hannah Rothstein, 50 States of Change, and Greenpeace USA’s interactive map, and send a message to your local representatives to end fossil fuel subsidies.
