If you are tracking U.S. wildfires this season, ArcGIS is providing a free real-time look at U.S. wildfire activity based on open-source data, including thermal satellite imaging: www.arcgis.com/apps/mapviewer/index.html?webmap=df8bcc10430f48878b01c96e907a1fc3#!

Plants, animals, and microbes move around based on changes in the physical environment and human activity. This shifting geography was documented recently by the appearance in southern Mississippi of a dangerous microbe previously found only in tropical and subtropical zones, including northern Australia, parts of Central and South America, and South and Southeast Asia: www.nytimes.com/2022/07/27/health/deadly-bacteria-us-soil-water.html

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis has released data showing the impact of the first year of the COVID pandemic on arts employment, by state: www.bea.gov/system/files/inline-images/acpsa0322d.png

I was cleaning out some old papers in my office and came across this rather stunning map I had saved from 2014 showing that, as of 2013, median household income in the U.S. had peaked at least 15 years earlier in 81 percent of U.S. counties. The interactive map at The Washington Post website allows users to mouse over counties for specific data: www.washingtonpost.com/wp-stat/graphics/business/income/index.html

Oceans cover nearly three-fourths of our planet's surface, but what goes on under the water is usually out of sight and, often, out of mind. This article brings to the surface changes in the biogeography of the waters off Maine: divemagazine.com/scuba-diving-long-reads/i-dived-the-gulf-of-maine-and-saw-one-fish

Soil composition is a vital but often-neglected component of physical and biogeography. Like the American Midwest, Ukraine and southern Russia have some of the world's most productive soil, called chernozem (in Eurasia and Canada) or mollisol (in the U.S). This article from Science News looks at ways in which war has a lasting impact on the underlying soil chemistry, hydrology, structure, and physical composition: www.sciencenews.org/article/ukraine-russia-war-soil-agriculture-crops. (For a map that shows soil types around the world, check out this one from the USDA: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/use/?cid=nrcs142p2_054013.)

In the U.S., there are about 150,000 traditional gas stations and only about 6,000 fast-charging electric vehicle stations, despite the sale of more than 400,000 electric vehicles in 2021. This map, from MIT Technology Review, shows the geographic distribution of the fast-charging EV stations:  www.technologyreview.com/2022/06/28/1053908/electric-vehicle-charging-stations/

This is one of several compelling graphics from a recent report in The Economist (UK) about slavery in the U.S. prior to the Civil War.  (Map from www.economist.com/interactive/graphic-detail/2022/06/18/slave-trade-family-separation.)

The U.S. is experiencing its worst outbreak of bird flu in seven years, resulting in the culling of nearly 40 million chickens and turkeys. This map, from the digital business journal Quartz, reflects both the spread of bird flu and the geographic concentration of commercial chicken operations.  (Map from qz.com/2162831/free-range-chickens-are-facing-global-bird-flu-lockdowns.)

Based on existing laws and the current political landscape, the Center for Reproductive Rights estimates this is what the legal status of abortion would look like in the United States if Roe v. Wade is overturned this summer: cdn.statcdn.com/Infographic/images/normal/26955.jpeg (map from Statista)

Roughly a quarter of all weddings in the U.S. are in the months of May and June. Depending on the state, though, up to 35% of all weddings are second or third (or fourth or fifth) marriages. This map, based on Census data, shows where re-marriage is most and least common in the U.S. compote.slate.com/images/c6f1ae40-6e32-414b-bec7-f3664e3e2ffa.png

Unionizing efforts at Amazon and Starbucks have made headlines recently. In the 1970s, one in four U.S. workers was a member of a labor union. Today, the figure is roughly one in 10. This interactive map from Business Insider shows 2021 union membership by state: www.businessinsider.com/map-of-what-union-membership-looks-like-in-us-2022-1

Federal income taxes are due today. This map identifies those states that contribute the most to federal coffers. Although there is clearly a high degree of correlation with population, some states contribute significantly more than would be expected based on population alone, due to higher average wages and overall economic activity.  California contributes 50% more than #2 NY, but New York is only the 4th biggest state by population.  New Jersey is #11 by population but #8 by contribution to federal revenue.  Massachusetts is #16 by population but #9 by federal revenue, and Minnesota is #10 by federal revenue but only #22 by population.

If you're planning a summer vacation, you might want to check out this article from Conde Nast Traveler that features "the most beautiful place" in all 50 states: www.cntraveler.com/gallery/the-most-beautiful-place-in-every-us-state

Even though continued labor shortages are giving employees the best leverage in a generation to raise their wages, the federal minimum wage remains at $7.25 per hour, meaning that many employees, especially in specific parts of the country, are still making less than $15 per hour and are particularly vulnerable to inflation driving up the costs of food and fuel. This interactive map from the British anti-poverty organization Oxfam shows the fraction of each state's labor force earning less than $15 per hour and allows users to also slice stats by race, gender, age, and marital status. www.oxfamamerica.org/explore/countries/united-states/poverty-in-the-us/low-wage-map-2022/

Historically, spring has been a busy time for home sale listings. Does the name of your street matter in terms of resale value?  A recent study by a finance professor at Emory University analyzed nearly 6,000 home sales across 35 states from 2001-2020, comparing houses sold on streets with Confederate names (e.g., Jefferson Davis, Dixie) with comparable houses sold on streets without the Confederate association. The economic geography was striking in two ways. First, in the 11 states of the former Confederacy, the difference in sales prices was not statistically significant, but in the other 24 states, houses on Confederate-named streets sold for an average of 4% less -- a loss of $10,000 on a $250,000 house, for example.  Second, in areas with higher shares of college educated, Democratic-voting, or Black residents, houses on Confederate-named streets sold at a bigger discount and were more likely to be slow to sell. This map shows Confederate street names in New Orleans, for example, where the city council is reconsidering place names with Confederate associations: bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/nola.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/f/ab/fab4b190-acfc-11ea-b1a5-f38812a04d2a/5ee436e73a7b7.image.jpg?resize=1333%2C1294. (Map from NOLA.com; study data from www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-08/confederate-street-names-can-bring-lower-home-prices.)

With some states, including Maryland and Georgia, temporarily lowering state gasoline taxes to reduce the impact of rising oil prices at the pump, this topological map compares state gas taxes, which range from a low of 15¢ per gallon in Alaska to a high of 70¢ per gallon in California.  (Map from the print edition of www.wsj.com/articles/maryland-georgia-pause-gas-taxes-with-prices-near-record-highs-11647880317.)

This map from Bloomberg combines educational attainment and prevalence of knowledge/professional/creative jobs to identify the top U.S. metropolitan areas for knowledge work. Top regions for knowledge work: the San Francisco Bay area, the Boston area, and the Washington, DC area.  Between 2010 and 2019, San Francisco saw the most growth in knowledge workers, followed by Pittsburgh and St. Louis.  (Map from www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-16/the-top-u-s-cities-for-knowledge-workers.)

Wondering where your state gets its electricity?  This topological map shows each state's mix of electricity and how it's changed since 2002.  (Map from www.wsj.com/articles/americas-power-grid-is-increasingly-unreliable-11645196772.)

Students in my geography classes learn about the Cascadian subduction zone and why it's considered a major threat to U.S. security. The maps in this article illustrate the reach of a tsunami triggered by a 9.0 earthquake in the Cascadian subduction zone -- an event scientists consider a one-in-nine probability in the next 50 years -- in a handful of communities in the Pacific Northwest. A major earthquake in the Cascadian subduction zone would likely kill tens of thousands along the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and northern California.  www.nytimes.com/2022/02/07/us/tsunami-northwest-evacuation-towers.html

California may be spurring a new gold rush.  But this time it's "white gold" -- lithium, the "gold" of the digital age, used in powering everything from electric cars to laptops to smartphones -- and the destination is southern California's Salton Sea. "The geothermal reservoir under the Salton Sea area is capable of producing 600,000 metric tons a year of lithium carbonate, according to estimates from the California Energy Commission. That level of output would surpass last year’s global production." This article from The Wall Street Journal looks at the potential -- and challenges -- for commercial lithium production from the saline Salton Sea. www.wsj.com/articles/where-is-there-more-lithium-to-power-cars-and-phones-beneath-a-california-lake-11644037217

Across the U.S., about half of all adults are currently married, 10-12% are currently divorced, and about one-third have never been married. The "never married" group is growing fastest. This map highlights the states with the largest percentages of adults who have never been married.

One in four American adults is considered "inactive," defined by the Centers for Disease Control as not participating in any physical activity outside of work over the last month. The prevalence of inactivity varies considerably by state and ethnicity, as this series of maps shows: www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/data/inactivity-prevalence-maps/index.html#overall

This map from Statista, using data from MIT's "living wage calculator," shows the gap between the minimum wage in a state and the living wage for a single worker with no children.  Hawaii has the largest gap -- $9.33 -- because of the state's extremely high cost of living; Washington has the smallest gap, presumably because of the state's relatively high minimum wage ($13.69 when this study was done and $14.49 as of earlier this month). cdn.statcdn.com/Infographic/images/normal/25574.jpeg

Earthquakes caused by fracking have pushed Texas regulators to change some of the rules governing fracking in the Permian Basin of west Texas. In 2021, there were 176 earthquakes in west Texas with a magnitude of 3.0 or more. (In 2019, by comparison, there were 9 earthquakes in the same area.) This map shows the geographic distribution of 2021's earthquakes.  (Map from www.wsj.com/articles/texas-earthquakes-prompt-new-fracking-rules-11642424582.)