Not too long ago, we were bemoaning the fact that the president still lectures at his State of the Union–rather than illustrating his points, like any good communicator, with some handy infographics. And we pointed out that infographics could sway politics mightly, given their unsurpassed power to convey messages that people remember.
Obama’s coming around: He’s just appointed the father of modern data visualization, Edward Tufte, to the Recovery Independent Advisory Panel. Thats the group of people that confer with the White House about the $787 Billion stimulus fund.
Presumably, Tufte will be using his expertise to find charts that illustrate how the stimulus is being used, and what effect its having on the economy. Thats brilliant news, for anyone overwhelmed by the blather surrounding political debates.
And its not just a token appointment. Tufte says that hell be going to Washington several days a month, and teleworking regularly.
In an effort to encourage a participatory government and satisfy the Open Government Directive agencies are soliciting your ideas on how to make them more transparent, participatory, collaborative and innovative. OpenGov Tracker is quantifying these efforts visually.
via [ AlterNet ] “Cities Shortening Yellow Traffic Lights for Deadly Profit” By Scott Thill
Some cities have been shortening yellow lights to nab drivers with a ticket. But studies show that theyre raking in the bucks at the expense of public safety.
As the recession enters its third year, many expect the recovery in the job market to remain slow. Each month throughout 2010, ChicagoBusiness.com will feature a new interactive graphic looking at the ever-changing employment picture.
Via [ Michael Cohen ] “They Don’t Call COIN the “Graduate Level of War” for Nothing ”
The U.S. Military’s powerpoint presentation - COIN, on stabilizing Afghanistan.
I expect a complex problem to prompt a far more complex solution. I remember designing decision making flow charts like this when building enterprise solutions for On-line Learning platforms. With all do respects, they were vastly more complex.
Rich and poor countries are linked in many ways by foreign aid, commerce, migration, the environment, and military affairs. The Commitment to Development Index (CDI) rates 22 rich countries on how much they help poor countries build prosperity, good government, and security. Each rich country gets scores in seven policy areas, which are averaged for an overall score.
One drop of oil can make up to 25 liters (6.6 gallons) of water undrinkable.
Seventy percent of the world’s water is used for agriculture, 22 percent for industry and 8 percent for domestic use. Low and middle income countries use 82 percent of their water for agriculture, 10 percent for industry and 8 percent for domestic use. High income countries use 30 percent of their water for agriculture, 59 percent for industry and 11 percent for domestic use.
A person is able to survive one month without food but only five to seven days without water.
Of all the Earth’s water, 97.5 percent is salt and 2.5 is fresh. Of that water, about 70 percent is locked in glacial ice and 30 percent in soil, leaving under 1 percent (.007 percent of the total water) readily accessible for human use.
A water footprint, or virtual water, is the amount of water used in the entire production and/or growth of a specific product. For example, 1 kilogram (2.2 lbs) of beef has a water footprint of 16,000 liters (4,226.8 gallons); one sheet of paper has a water footprint of 10 liters (2.6 gallons); one cup of tea has a water footprint of 35 liters (9.2 gallons); and one microchip has a water footprint of 32 liters (8.5 gallons).
It takes 94.5 to 189.3 liters of water (25 to 50 gallons) to take a five-minute shower; 7.6 to 26.5 liters (2-7 gallons) to flush a toilet; 7.6 liters (2 gallons) to brush one’s teeth; and 75.7 liters (20 gallons) to hand wash dishes.
6,000 children die each day from preventable water-related diseases.
The population of the United States is approximately 304 million; the population of Europe is approximately 732.7 million; 1.1 billion people lack adequate drinking water access; and 2.6 billion people lack basic water sanitation.
The average American uses about 575 liters of water (151.9 gallons) per day, with about 60 percent of that being used out-of-doors (watering lawns, washing cars, etc.). The average European uses 250 liters of water (66 gallons) per day. 1.1 billion people lack adequate water access, using less than 19 liters (5 gallons) per day.
The average American uses 30.3 times more water than a person who lacks adequate water access; the average European uses 13.2 times more water than a person who lacks adequate water access.
Anyone who has done any sort of programing or data management is familiar with working with data sets and filters to produce a result. This is what occurs behind the screen, but what if you allow the data-sets and filters to hang out on the screen? And what if are not looking for a single fact or a single person result or a date, but rather want to know about influences or patterns?