Tom PattersonThe Equal Earth map projection. An accurate world map is something that has evaded cartographers for centuries. But this new design just might make distorted maps a thing of the past.

Given the increasing importance of rare earths, countries with large reserves are gaining significant economic and political influence.

Despite centuries of efforts to map our planet precisely, our view of the world will always be political and imperfect.

For decades environmentalists have warned that ever-rising numbers of people and their impact on the Earth's finite resources ... harder to ignore. In this map-based feature, gauge the scope ...

This does have its drawbacks, as the Earth is round, but pages are flat, so what we see on a map is slightly distorted.Globes and maps are how we’ve seen the world for hundreds of years.