|
Over the next few days and weeks, the number of migrating birds will rise sharply in the U.S. BirdCast is a project of Colorado State and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology that produces daily bird migration forecast maps based on 23 years of weather radar data. (Radar picks up bird -- and butterfly! -- migration, which is particularly useful given that many bird species migrate at night.) To check out today's forecast and the forecast for the next two days, see birdcast.info/migration-tools/migration-forecast-maps/
0 Comments
The branches of the now-defunct Silicon Valley Bank were highly geographically concentrated -- but perhaps not where one might suppose: one-third of the bank's locations were in the Boston area (a huge biotech hub) and roughly one-quarter were in the Los Angeles metro area.  Phenology is the study of seasonal or cyclic natural phenomena, such as animal migration or the flowering of plants. The USA National Phenology Network provides a series of historic, real-time, and forecast maps related to a wide variety of plant, animal, and temperature cycles. This one looks at spring leafing anomalies (the darker the red, the earlier plants are leafing out relative to historic norms; the blue areas show delayed leafing). From www.usanpn.org/data/spring_indices  Eighteen U.S. states have passed some sort of law circumscribing the teaching of race or race relations in public schools. This map shows the 18 states and where each one currently stands on the new AP African American Studies course. (Map from www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/02/18/states-review-ap-african-american-studies-class/.)
With warmer days ahead, insects will be breaking dormancy and hatching out. In the Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic, residents are being asked to be on the lookout for the spotted lanternfly, an insect native to Asia that was first found in Pennsylvania in 2014 (counties with infestations shown in blue on this map). The sticky secretions of the spotted lantern fly attract a black fungus that prevents photosynthesis on affected plant leaves and renders grapes unsuitable for consumption, among other things. www.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://arc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.com/public/FBEBIV5KVZH73H2GH53HAHYII4.jpeg&w=1200 (Map from www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/02/01/spotted-lanternfly-fairfax-invasive-insect/.)
This map, based on U.S. Department of Transportation data, shows train derailments over the last 47 years. (Map from www.nytimes.com/2023/02/17/opinion/ohio-train-derailment-safety-regulation.html.)
This series of maps looks at the prevalence of various animal names in place names across the U.S., but it's also an interesting proxy for biogeography. (No salmon in Illinois, for example, and no wild burros in Florida.) www.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://arc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.com/public/VCPNVOYRSVEDXI6NT4JNLYV2AI.png&w=1200
The Super Bowl attracts more gambling dollars than any other single event, and in 2023 more Americans than ever before had the opportunity to bet on the Super Bowl via online gaming sites. This map shows the legal status of of sports betting in the U.S. www.americangaming.org/research/state-gaming-map/
Although some locations in the U.S. have gotten massive amounts of snow this winter -- 9.7 feet in Buffalo, New York, for example, and nearly 43 feet on Mammoth Mountain in California's Sierra Nevadas -- other traditionally snowy places like Boston and Chicago have received below-average snowfall. https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2023/02/03/us-snowfall-extremes-map
Chicago is hoping to further its ambitions of becoming a tech hub by attracting tech workers laid off by firms in Silicon Valley and elsewhere to the Windy City. Specifically, Chicago is trying to make itself a destination for holders of H-1B visas. H-1B visas, which are reserved for in-demand occupations, require employer sponsorship; when holders of H-1B visas are laid off, they have only 60 days to find a new employer willing to sponsor their visa or they must leave the country. (Roughly 40% of software engineers working in the U.S. were born outside the country.) A consortium of Chicago employers and civic groups is trying to target laid off H-1B visa holders to fill job openings, keep tech talent in the U.S., and promote Chicago as a destination for top tech talent. www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-25/chicago-seeks-to-lure-foreign-workers-laid-off-by-tech-giants
Of the estimated 458 wildlife encounters that prove fatal for Americans each year, 440 of them are with deer. This map, based on crash data from State Farm, shows where Americans are most likely to have a auto claim involving an animal, with drivers in West Virginia, Montana, and Michigan being the most likely to collide with an animal. According to State Farm, about 70% of animal-related auto claims nationally are due to collisions with deer specifically. (Map from www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/01/20/deer-car-collisions/.)
A new ban on high-capacity magazines and assault-style weapons came into effect in Illinois earlier this month, resulting in this map of states that have laws on the books for these: cdn.statcdn.com/Infographic/images/normal/18924.jpeg
Scientists continue to try to draw attention to Utah's Great Salt Lake, which is rapidly disappearing due to drought and water use policy. Without intervention, the Great Salt Lake may be entirely gone within 5 years! The issues are similar to Central Asia's Aral Sea: the diversion of water from the rivers that feed the lake leaving behind an expanse of toxic dust, threatening both wildlife and human health. www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/01/06/great-salt-lake-utah-drying-up/
The ranges of three types of fungi that cause serious lung infections (histoplasmosis, coccidioidomycosis, and blastomycosis) are expanding in the U.S., as the series of maps based on Medicare data in this article show: www.sciencenews.org/article/fungi-cause-serious-lung-infections-found
California has been soaked by "atmospheric rivers" in the last couple of weeks, with more to come. This article explains what atmospheric rivers are, why California gets them every winter, and what impact all this rain is having on California's years-long drought. www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2023/01/06/california-atmospheric-river-forecast-flooding/
This interactive map from the Census Bureau shows which U.S. states have the largest proportions of senior citizens (the greener the state, the larger the proportion of the population age 65 or older): www.census.gov/library/visualizations/interactive/population-65-and-older-2021.html
It's been about 70 years since gold was actively mined in Virginia, but with industrial gold use rising -- including in computer chips, printed circuit boards, medical applications, and as a catalyst -- Virginia is exploring the health and environmental impacts of a resumption of mining. This map shows former and potential mining locations in the state: tinyurl.com/546ndhps (Map from www.bayjournal.com/news/pollution/report-virginia-ill-equipped-to-deal-with-the-revival-of-gold-mine-industry/article_fcff4ae4-69da-11ed-8cfb-e7dbe084e37c.html.)
New York City recently updated its map of every tree on public land in the city: tree-map.nycgovparks.org/tree-map
Synthetic opioids, of which fentanyl is the most prominent, have become the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 18 and 45. This series of maps shows the growing rate of fentanyl deaths, by county, in the U.S. (Maps from www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/interactive/2022/fentanyl-poisoning-colorado/.)
Practice your knowledge of U.S. geography with the daily Statele quiz: statele.teuteuf.fr/
Hurricanes have become costlier in the U.S., not just because of the storms themselves but because of an increasing number of expensive structures built in their paths. A case in point: these maps compare housing density on Florida's southern Gulf coast in 1980 and in 2020. (Map from www.nytimes.com/2022/12/02/briefing/why-hurricanes-cost-more.html. The article includes similar maps for the Houston metro area.)
According to an analysis by Good Jobs First, a not-for-profit that tracks agreements between Amazon and state and local governments, Amazon has received more than $5 billion in government subsidies. This data visualization, published in Quartz, shows which states have been most generous to Amazon (from https://qz.com/emails/daily-brief/1849825382/chinese-protests-ripple-effect).
Although nine states have more cattle than people -- South Dakota, for example, has 4x as many cattle as people -- 94% of Americans live in counties in which humans outnumber cattle. The Washington Post's data visualization team produced this map to help answer the question why so many Americans have never seen a cow :-). (Map from www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/10/28/congress-college-majors-economics/.)
Corporal punishment in schools is legal in the 19 states shown on this map (the darker the color, the higher the rate of corporal punishment, as reported to the Department of Education). Roughly 75% of all corporal punishment cases occur in four states: Mississippi, Texas, Alabama, and Arkansas, with Mississippi having both the most cases and the highest rate of corporal punishment. (Map from www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/10/14/states-teachers-paddle/.)
According to a New York Times analysis, more than 370 candidates for U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, governor, secretary of state, and attorney general -- the vast majority of Republicans running for those running seats -- have questioned the legitimacy of the 2020 election. This topological map provides a look at where election denial has (and has not) come to dominate Republican political discourse. (Map from www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/10/13/us/politics/republican-candidates-2020-election-misinformation.html.)
|
Blog sharing news about geography, philosophy, world affairs, and outside-the-box learning
Archives
March 2023
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed