Jan./Feb. 1984 RAIN Page 13 just be a spherical map. The globe would give observers a perspective on their homes as they truly appear. I thought that perhaps it should be large enough to slightly intimidate and provoke its observers, yet also intrigue and invite them to explore its detailed surface. The completed five-foot diameter globe now hangs in the central stairway at College of the Atlantic, a school of human ecology in Bar Harbor, Maine. From the upper landing one can look down upon the northern hemisphere, then walk to the middle landing and run fingers across the Sahara Desert, or spin the globe to get a better view of the Amazon River Basin. Finally, one can walk below the globe and stare up at the great ice sheets of Antarctica. Unsupported from below, the globe gives the viewer a sensation that it floats freely in spaTcoel.ook at the many sides of the globe as it spins is the nearest we can come to seeing the entire surface of the earth all at once. Our inability to see the whole earth at one time is one of the great mysteries of globes and a dilemma that world maps have never truly overcome. From one perspective, looking into the central Pacific Ocean, almost the entire planet appears to be covered with water. Apart from the scattered islands of the South Pacific, almost no land is visible. Yet from another angle, centered on the Middle East, surrounded by Europe, Africa, and Asia, we see a planet that is almost entirely covered by land. It is the larger patterns, such as these, that are particularly prominent on this globe. Without the indication of cities, highways, and borders on it, most of us would find it difficult to find our homes, because we are so ignorant of the local geography. Although we have learned to avoid the mountains and rivers, by building tunnels and bridges, these are the features that stand out when viewing the earth from a distance. Using this representation of earth, observers are drawn to explore the source of the local watershed. By examining how the mountains and rivers divide the continents, they can learn how these geographical features led to the placement of cities and trade routes before the political boundaries and highways existed. But I did not build this globe only for others to learn from. By designing and constructing the globe, studying and placing each detail upon its surface, I learned far more about the land and ocean formations than I could have ever learned by simply observing them. As I formed the globe and gave shape to each continent, I experienced personal revelation about the earth and its particular parts. It was often a frustrating process, but always fascinating and stimulating. 'Trom this distant perspective I realized that I could learn a great deal about the biology and evolution of the planet, as well as how these natural features have driven human populations together and apart." The creation of the globe began with constructing a five-foot diameter, polyurethane-coated, styrofoam sphere. Working with numerous maps, atlases, globes, and Landsat photographs, 1 began to form the oceans, indicating depth with shades of aquamarine blue. This procedure impressed upon me the immensity of these bodies of water. The formation of the Ocean surface seemed like an endless task. But once it was completed I was thankful that two-thirds of our planet is covered
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