The graph is from Amazon and attempting to graphically represent the number of pages printed from two different toner cartridges. Maybe the designers took into account the compression from the weight of the paper. Enjoy.
What are the economic prospects for 2019 college grads?
The yearly EPI report on economic prospects for young college grads Class of 2019 College Edition by Elise Gould, Zane Makhiber, and Julia Wolfe (5/14/19) is now available. The report has 19 key finding and 10 graphs with available data. A few highlights:
Women make up half of 21- to 24-year-olds but well over half (57.4 percent) of young college degree holders.
One out of every 20 young college graduates is unemployed, a higher rate than in 2000, when only one in 25 was.
After falling in the aftermath of the Great Recession, wages for young college graduates have been growing steadily since 2014 and have (just barely) surpassed the 2000 benchmark; however, nearly two decades of wage growth for young college graduates have been lost.
Related Post: What are the prospects for new college grads? (5/21/18)
Does the U.S. import or export natural gas?
The title of the EIA post (5/2/19) says it all, United States has been a net exporter of natural gas for more than 12 consecutive months. In short,
U.S. net natural gas exports in February 2019 totaled 4.6 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), marking 13 consecutive months in which U.S. natural gas exports exceeded imports. The United States exports natural gas by pipeline to both Canada and Mexico and increasingly exports liquefied natural gas (LNG) to several other countries.
Note the units, that is 4.6 billion cubic feet per day. The eia has links to the data.
In a related post How much coal does the U.S. export? this question was posed: If a country removes fossil fuels from the ground, how complicit are they in the CO2 emissions of those fuels even if they aren’t the ones burning it?
Why is Black maternal mortality higher?
Kevin Drum provides an excellent example of quantitative reasoning in his (5/6/19) post How Can We Reduce Black Maternal Mortality? The story begins with his chart here that shows maternal mortality increasing in general, but it has increased faster and is much higher for Black mothers as compared to White. Drum begins by addressing the toxic stress hypothesis, in other words, the differences are do to the stress caused by societal and systemic racism which leads to physiological issues. But,
One reason for this is the “Hispanic paradox”: Hispanics certainly encounter systemic racism too, but the maternal mortality rate for Hispanic mothers is about the same as for white mothers.
The article has a graph of “allostatic load” which looks to quantify long-term stress.
The differences in allostatic load are tiny—about the equivalent of one IQ point on an intelligence test—and Hispanics have a higher allostatic load than either blacks or whites but the lowest maternal mortality rate.
Another chart looks at self-reported stress by race for poor individuals, but
Poor blacks report less stress and higher levels of optimism than both poor whites and poor Hispanics. Put all this together and the toxic stress/weathering hypotheses look shaky. The racial differences are modest and don’t seem to correlate well with maternal mortality anyway. The problem is that every other hypothesis seems wrong too. Researchers have looked at poverty, education, drinking, smoking, and genetic causes. None of them appear to be the answer.
There are two more charts as part of Drum’s article. The article is worth reading, he cites his data, and is it perfect for a QL based course. His general conclusion at this point:
This is shocking: we still have almost no idea of what’s going on even though this has been a well-known problem for more than two decades.
How has the U.S. ranking in the world press freedom index changed since 2018?
Reporters without Borders releases a world press freedom index each year. The U.S. dropped three spots to 48 out of 180 countries and is considered a “problematic situation.”
The RSF Index, which evaluates the state of journalism in 180 countries and territories every year, shows that an intense climate of fear has been triggered — one that is prejudicial to a safe reporting environment. The hostility towards journalists expressed by political leaders in many countries has incited increasingly serious and frequent acts of violence that have fueled an unprecedented level of fear and danger for journalists.
“If the political debate slides surreptitiously or openly towards a civil war-style atmosphere, in which journalists are treated as scapegoats, then democracy is in great danger,” RSF secretary-general Christophe Deloire said. “Halting this cycle of fear and intimidation is a matter of the utmost urgency for all people of good will who value the freedoms acquired in the course of history.”
The site includes the downloadable 2019 data, an interactive map, and the main article also has a couple of graphs.
Related post: Where does the U.S. rank on the world press freedom index?
R you looking to learn R?
Today’s post is a shameless plug. If you are looking to learn R as it relates to college courses consider my new book R for College Mathematics and Statistics. The book is example based and organized by mathematical and statistical topic, which loosely follows standard courses in the curriculum. The book is useful for both faculty and students with little or no experience in programming or R. Note also that I provide R code on the calculus and statistics pages and occasionally with posts.
Opioid prescription, grandparents raising grandchildren, a connection?
The Census Bureau report States With High Opioid Prescribing Rates Have Higher Rates of Grandparents Responsible for Grandchildren by Lydia Anderson (4/22/19) draws a connection:
In the wake of the opioid epidemic that was declared a public health crisis in 2017, there has been increasing concern about what happens to the children of parents with substance abuse disorders who may be unable to care for their children.
New Census Bureau research shows that grandparents may sometimes step in to care for these children.
According to the report the states with the highest opioid prescription rates are Alabama (121 per 100 residents), Arkansas (114.6), Tennessee (107.5), Mississippi (105.6) and Louisiana (98.1). These states represent four of the top 5 states where the percentage of the population age 30 and over are raising grandchildren. The article has a companion map to the map of opioid prescription rates copied here with rates of grandparents raising grandchildren. There are also links to the data.
Are there tornado trends?
The Climate Central post Shifting Tornado Zones (4/24/19) provides a map of changes in the number of tornadoes since 1979 (copied here).
Let’s be clear, tornadoes are not going away in the Plains and Upper Midwest, but more have been recorded east of the Mississippi. While there are connections to climate variability modes like ENSO, these overall trends are consistent with an eastward shift in the drier climate zone of the western U.S. and with climate change projections indicating that severe storm environments will become more common in the eastern U.S.
The number of tornadoes in large tornado outbreaks is also on the rise.
In addition to the changing geography and number of tornadoes, there is a shift in the time of year they occur.
Extensive tornado data can be found at TornadoHistoryProject.com. Related posts: When and where do tornadoes occur? Are tornadoes on the rise in the U.S.?
What is earth overshoot day?
According to Earth Overshoot Day:
Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when humanity’s demand for ecological resources and services in a given year exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that year. We maintain this deficit by liquidating stocks of ecological resources and accumulating waste, primarily carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
The graph here is from statista and is from data posted by Earth Overshoot Day. The Earth Overshoot website has useful materials for teachers.
Should you move to Duluth, MN?
The Weather Channel article It’s the Year 2100 and Everyone’s Moving to Duluth by Neil Katz (4/16/19) notes
In a climate-changed future many people, says Keenan, “are looking for affordability, accessibility and actually qualitatively some degree of environmental amenities, which we believe Duluth, Lake Superior, and that part of northeast Minnesota, among other places may offer.”
Huttner is right to point out that winter weather in Duluth remains brutally cold, snowy and difficult. But it is changing, and it’s changing faster than many other places. Winters are now five degrees warmer than they were in 1970, according to NOAA data analyzed by Climate Central.
The Weather Channel isn’t the only one praising Duluth as a future place to live. The NYT article Want to Escape Global Warming? These Cities Promise Cool Relief by Kendra Pierre-Louis (4/15/19) lists Duluth and Buffalo as cities of the future (Note: Both articles quote Keenan, a lecturer at Harvard University Graduate School of Design). The Weather Channel article has a couple of nice charts (such as the one copied here) and both are a starting point for conversations about adapting to climate change.
PS On a personal note, I lived in the Twin Ports (Duluth MN and Superior WI) for a couple of years around 2000. Beautiful place.