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According to this map by the Department of Cartography and Geography of the East University in Oklahoma, people have different names for soft drinks in different areas of the United States. Soda is the name used in California, Nevada, Arizona, and parts the North East region. Pop is the name referred to in the Northern half of the U.S. and Coke is the popular name used in the Southern states. This map was based upon 120,464 respondents.
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The amount of plastic pollution in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre (NPSG), more often referred to as the North Pacific Garbage Patch, has increased dramatically in the last forty years, according to this map by The Economist. The plastic pieces 5mm in diameter or less, known as ‘microplastic’, are known to have an impact on the ocean’s ecosystem, mainly through ingestion of these particles by fish and invertebrates. The species that seems to be benefiting from the presence of the microplastic debris is the insect known as Halobates sericeus, that has way more surface where to lay its eggs. For detailed information see the complete research paper: Increased Oceanic Microplastic Debris Enhances Oviposition in an Endemic Pelagic Insect by Miriam C. Goldstein,
Marci Rosenberg, and Lanna Cheng.
As we start analyzing the results of the 2012 presidential election in the US, it is becoming clear that political polarization continues to increase across the country. Take North Carolina for instance. As the thematic maps above show, the number of counties where the Republican party won by 40% or more reached a new high in 2012. This year there were 14 deeply red counties, compared to only 4 in 2008. On the other hand, there were 10 deeply red counties in 2004, which suggests that 2008 was an outlier due to the extraordinary circumstances that allowed Obama to win the state.
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Temperatures on the Earth’s surface and moisture levels in the atmosphere have been on the rise. These two factors might be at the root of the drastic change in weather patterns causing severe droughts, heat waves, heavy rains and other extreme weather phenomena.
In its September 2012 edition, the National Geographic magazine featured an extensive article on extreme weather affecting the U.S.
As the economic damage from Hurricane Sandy is still being evaluated, we took a look at the damage from weather/climate-related disasters over the past 30 years. The National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration keeps detailed statistics of all weather disasters in the US. One of the visualizations the NCDC has created is a thematic map of billion-dollar weather events, which can be seen above. The map shows the number of events that caused at least a billion dollars in damage by state. Southern states suffered the most damage up until 2011. The colors in the map may look significantly different once the total tally of Sandy is calculated.
An analysis of donor data from the Federal Election Commission (FEC) conducted by Chris Wilson at Yahoo News suggests that first names may be a predictor of a person’s political affiliation. It turns out that Republicans seem to have a hold on names like Donald and Sharon, whereas Democrats attract contributions from people with names like Angela and Willie. You can play around with the data and draw your own conclusions using the embedded chart.
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A color-coded map featured in an article by the Washington Post, shows annual per capita smoking rates by country. Serbia, Russia, and other countries in Eastern Europe, are the heaviest smokers, with an average consumption of 2,000 cigarettes per person per year. These countries are followed by Japan and South Korea, with China catching up. The U.S. and Canada are in the middle with an average consumption of 750 to 1,249 cigarettes per person per year. The healthiest countries tend to be poor countries located in Sub-Saharan Africa and in Southeast Asia, with an average consumption of up to 250 cigarettes per person per year.
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This interesting animation shows air traffic over the United States on a given day. It was created using real air traffic data from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The animation covers the period 8PM to 8PM EST of the following day. In the middle of the night, the number of aircraft on the air is about nine hundred. In the middle of the day, the number of aircraft on the air is around five thousand. Most air traffic is concentrated in the Northeastern part of the country and the main traffic hubs can be distinguished by the number of aircraft concentrated around them.
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According to an article published by Scientific American, based on data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), tobacco use decreased in the U.S. in 2010, comparing to 1995. There are still some states where the use of tobacco constitutes a severe problem. Such is the case of West Virginia and Oklahoma. The best state in terms of tobacco use is Utah, with the lowest levels nationwide.
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According to an article published by Scientific American, based on data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), heavy drinking has increased in several states. The heaviest drinking states are located in the Northeast, the worst of all Vermont, based on data for 2010. Heavy drinking is defined as two or more drinks per day for men, and one or more drinks per day for women.