Description
"A Disappearing Planet" by Anna Flagg for ProPublica, a data journalism project on the mass extinction event currently taking place. Animal species are going extinct at 100 to 1,000 times the rates expected under natural conditions. Based on Elizabeth Kolbert's Pulitzer Prize-winning book "The Sixth Extinction" (2014) and other recent studies, the piece visualizes environmental changes and disappearing ecosystems through interactive maps and graphics. Flagg, a data journalist and developer, used scrollytelling and animated visualizations to show species loss, habitat destruction, and the geographic concentration of biodiversity threats. The project exemplifies how data journalism can make abstract environmental statistics feel urgent and tangible through careful visual design.