This geo-graphic from Statista looks at which metro areas have the most installed data farm capacity: www.statista.com/chart/31372/regions-cities-with-highest-data-center-power-capacity

These maps look at shifting precipitation patterns in the Midwest: comparing the map on the left (based on average rainfall from 1979-1991) to the map on the right (based on average rainfall from 1994-2016) it is clear the Midwest has become drier, meaning a greater proportion of "America's breadbasket" has become dependent on irrigation to maintain crop yields. (Maps from www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/11/30/climate/airlines-jet-fuel-ethanol-corn.html.)

Engineers argue for concrete construction in hurricane-prone areas. Wood is cheaper, though, even after taking higher homeowners insurance costs into account. This map shows current and recent wood construction projects in Florida, including high-rise buildings, with a concentration in the Jacksonville area and along the Gulf Coast. (Map from www.wsj.com/real-estate/in-hurricane-prone-florida-builders-are-still-making-new-homes-out-of-wood-d3fcb931.)

This topological map, based on data analyzed by the American Enterprise Institute, looks at the states producing weapon systems for Ukraine as a result of Congressional-approved aid for Ukraine. (Map from www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/11/29/ukraine-military-aid-american-economy-boost/.)

With December right around the corner, this map looks at how the new El Niño cycle is expected to impact weather across the U.S. from December through February: arstechnica.com/science/2023/10/were-entering-a-pretty-strong-el-nino-heres-what-that-means-for-a-us-winter/

For a generative AI to respond to a question requires computing power, which requires cooling, which, at present, requires water. A lot of it: an estimated liter of water for every 10-100 questions a generative AI answers. Microsoft and Google both reported their water use in 2022 increased by at least 20%. This article from the Associated Press highlights Iowa's role in the development of GPT-4: apnews.com/article/chatgpt-gpt4-iowa-ai-water-consumption-microsoft-f551fde98083d17a7e8d904f8be822c4

The life expectancy of Americans varies significantly based on where they live, as this map, based on pre-pandemic average life expectancies, shows. (Map and an interesting discussion of the cultural and political dynamics that underlie it at www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/09/01/america-life-expectancy-regions-00113369.)

South Florida has long been home to nonnative species. In recent years, the black and white tegu, an Argentinian lizard the size of a dog, has established an invasive population, numbering in the thousands, in South Florida and spread north throughout Florida (see map from the University of Florida) and into Georgia and South Carolina as well as establishing a separate feral population in Texas. The tegu was once popular in the pet trade but is now illegal to own in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Louisiana, Texas, Kansas, Nebraska, Minnesota, Kentucky, and Hawaii; permits and/or microchipping are required in several other states. Tegus are omnivores, particularly fond of eggs, and can live up to 20 years; the tegu is more cold tolerant than most lizards, and a female can lay up to 35 eggs annually. edis.ifas.ufl.edu/image/Iyywnm3tt6/screen

This topological map looks at the growth of home schooling in the U.S. since the 2017-18 school year.  Because quite a few states do not require any notification from or oversight of home schoolers, no data is available for some states. (Map from www.washingtonpost.com/education/interactive/2023/homeschooling-growth-data-by-district/.)

Because bitcoin mining consumes a huge amount of electricity, it has tended to be concentrated where electricity can be had cheaply. This article from The Wall Street Journal looks at how bitcoin mining is being pitched to natural gas producers in Texas as a way of supplementing their income, which has fallen along with natural gas prices: www.wsj.com/business/energy-oil/in-texas-bitcoin-springs-from-gas-wells-47e5e2b6

This geo-graphic plots state cigarette taxes against state smoking-related death rates.  (Graphic from www.washingtonpost.com/health/interactive/2023/republican-politics-south-midwest-life-expectancy/.)

In the past year, more than 500 schools in the U.S. have been subjected to fake calls about school shooters. This map looks at the prevalence of fake school shooter calls, by state, in that time.  (Map from www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/10/04/school-swatting-hoax-active-shooter/.)

The decennial U.S. Census is a reason to redraw congressional maps in many states. This topological map, based on data from the Princeton Gerrymandering Project and the Electoral Innovation Lab, considers the level of gerrymandering baked into states' current congressional maps.  (Map from www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/10/07/illinois-congressional-map-gerrymandering/.)

The maps in this article overlay Texas aquifers, fracking sites, and water wells that have been drilled to supply fracking, an industry that has used 1.5 trillion gallons of water since 2011: www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/09/25/climate/fracking-oil-gas-wells-water.html.

The rapid depletion of key American aquifers, highlighted in this article, reflects an intersection of physical and human geography that is arguably every bit as important as climate change but gets a fraction of the attention. www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/08/28/climate/groundwater-drying-climate-change.html

This 523 boarding schools shown on this map represent the most complete accounting to date of Native American boarding schools in the U.S., the first of which opened in 1801 and the last of which opened as late as the 1970s.  (Map from www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/08/30/us/native-american-boarding-schools.html.)

Gravity is not the same all over the planet. One of the factors that can have an effect on surface gravity is the density of the underlying rock: higher-density rock increases surface gravity (ever so slightly).  This map of Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio is part of a Bouguer gravity anomaly map,  showing higher-gravity regions in pink/red and lower-gravity regions in blue. Because of the underlying rock, you will weigh more in southern Illinois than in eastern Ohio, for example. www.atlasobscura.com/articles/strange-maps-uneven-gravity

Drought in the Midwest is leading to lower water levels in the Mississippi River again this year, which is leading to salt water encroaching up the river and threatening the water supplies of New Orleans. Although the "saltwater wedge" isn't supposed to arrive for a couple of weeks, New Orleans residents are starting to empty grocery stores shelves of bottled water.

"The crisis is a result of drought conditions in the Midwest, which have sapped water levels in the Mississippi, allowing salty water from the Gulf to creep upstream beneath a freshwater layer. Officials with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers say the “saltwater wedge,” which has already affected communities downstream, could reach water treatment plants near New Orleans in about a month, pushing the salty water into household faucets. About a million people across southeastern Louisiana could be affected. Officials are working to slow the influx by strengthening an underwater sill, or levee, at the bottom of the Mississippi, and preparing to ship tens of millions of gallons of fresh water from upstream by barge to affected treatment facilities on a daily basis. Still, managing the demand for clean water could take a herculean effort, Dr. [Jesse] Keenan [of Tulane University] said, especially because it is unclear how long the intrusion could last. City officials said this week that they were planning for as long as three months, based on expert advice. In previous dry years, including in 1988 and 2012, officials in Louisiana managed to avert major problems, but this could be different: It’s the second straight year in which water levels have dropped drastically because of heat and drought intensified by climate change."
www.nytimes.com/2023/09/29/us/new-orleans-saltwater-intrusion.html

A confluence of factors -- including concentrated wealth searching for investment outlets and rising interest rates -- is leading to a growing proportion of single-family homes in the U.S. being purchased for cash and turned into rental housing. This map takes as a case study a middle-class neighborhood in Charlotte, NC. (Map from  www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/09/16/realestate/home-sales-north-carolina-wall-street.html.)

The state of Massachusetts has an interactive site that maps all bear sightings in the state (not counting Boston Bruins) from 2019 to the present: massbears.wordpress.amherst.edu/sightings-map/

This interactive map tracks anticipated foliage changes in the contiguous U.S.: smokymountains.com/fall-foliage-map/

September is apple-picking time, but in Benton County, Arkansas (today, better known as the headquarters of Walmart) there is an unusual apple that is picked in the fall but not eaten until months later. The Arkansas Black was discovered in an Arkansas orchard in the 1870s and grown commercially until the Great Depression. Today, it is making a bit of a comeback as regional specialty. https://www.atlasobscura.com/foods/arkansas-black-apple

New York City recently passed restrictions on renting out properties on sites like Airbnb. Although NYC has (had?) a lot of Airbnb listings, other tourist destinations -- like Hawaii, New Orleans and Washington, DC -- have a lot more on a per capita basis.  Asheville, NC, in the Blue Ridge Mountains, has the highest proportion of properties listed on Airbnb. www.statista.com/chart/30761/airbnb-listings-per-1000-inhabitants-in-the-us

With Hurricane Lee dawdling off the Atlantic Coast of the U.S., this graph from NOAA is a reminder that this is the busiest time of year for hurricanes.  (Graph from www.nola.com/news/hurricane/hurricane-lee-becomes-a-cat-3-storm-no-threat-to-the-gulf/article_fe6ad090-4f64-11ee-984f-3facb7542d5c.html.)

If your state doesn't produce enough doctors to meet demand, where are the doctors in your state most likely from?  This map, based on U.S. Census data, answers that question. (Map from www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/08/18/states-most-artists-writers/.)