Mapping with Datawrapper

Datawrapper is just great and now it is even easier to add data & make interactive web-based choropleth maps (see example below): Use our completely redesigned data upload for choropleth maps

Learning R

Here are a few good resources:

• Introducing R to a non-programmer in one hour
• A Succinct Intro to R
• R for Data Science

The Projection Playground

The Projection Playground is fun: look at the world in different projections & you can even adjust the projection parameters to make things even more complicated. Plus you can get the D3 code.

Now: what is this useful for? No idea. For me, there are three challanges related to map projections:

1. Make students realize that what (they think) the world looks like is actually just a function of the map projection / parameters.
2. Understand the implications of 1).
3. For students in my GIS courses: Be able to project GIS data (although that's become less and less important.

Scatterplot vs. Bivariate Choropleth Map

Same data, different data viz - have a look at http://cartoblography.com/2021/09/24/get-vaccinated/ by Ken Field.

You can create a simple scatterplot to highlight the inverse relationship (here COVID-19 hospitalizations vs. vaccinations) or a bivariate choropleth map to show the spatial pattern(s). Cool!

Dr. Katharine Hayhoe

Dr. Katharine Hayhoe is a great example of how faith and science can live together just fine.

• On Jimmy Kimmel Live (23 September 2021)
• Book: Saving Us - A Climate Scientist's Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World

Geospatial Data Science Data and Tools

Geospatial Data Science Data and Tools by the NREL is an amazing compilation of maps and data (and interactive viz) related to sustainable energy.

The Travel Planner

The Travel Planner and Carbon Emissions Calculator is pretty slick and an amazing example of what you can do with Tableau.

The St. Louis Map Room

The St. Louis Map Room: a community space for exploring and creating original, interpretive maps of the city. These maps are currently on display throughout the community.

• https://www.cocastl.org/stlmaproom/
• In the Map Room

The Traffic Simulation Game

Seen on Maps Mania: The Traffic Simulation Game

Download and then model traffic anywhere in the world: add bike lanes, sidewalks, etc. Not sure how it all works, but somehow OpenStreetMap is involved. 

Painting in ArcGIS Pro

This is cool: Painting in Pro. Reminds me a little of this: MS Excel Art.

Energy and Human Ambitions on a Finite Planet

 Great new open-access OER: Energy and Human Ambitions on a Finite Planet

• Read the online version
• Download the PDF
• Buy a printed copy ($25.54!)

This book is perhaps the 'update' to the classic book by David MacKay: Sustainable Energy – without the hot air.

Trust in Science

Two great cartoons:

• https://xkcd.com/2515/
• https://twitter.com/citycyclops/status/1356286601756770306

Highways & Racism

Great data viz / Story Map: What It Looks Like to Reconnect Black Communities Torn Apart by Highways.

Then, explore: How Decades of Racist Housing Policy Left Neighborhoods Sweltering. This one sits behind the NYT paywall, but you can get the underlying scientific papers:

• Disproportionate exposure to urban heat island intensity across major US cities (Nature Communictions, 25 May 2021).
• The Effects of Historical Housing Policies on Resident Exposure to Intra-Urban Heat: A Study of 108 US Urban Areas (Climate, 2020)

Mapping Open Data Portalls

Mapping the specific location of an open data portal is a bit weird: is it the location of the server (if there even is a specific location) or the location of the data accessible via said portal? And: what about regional or global data sets? 

Still, I think the map is cool & the spatial patterns are interesting: A Map of Open Data Portals

Human Development Indices (5.0)

The Human Development Indices (5.0) are now available at the subnational level (e.g. states in the USA). Nice: the data are available for download. 

Climate Extremes

Urban Geography: Why We Live Where We Do

Soil Erosion

Finland Might Have Solved Nuclear Power’s Biggest Problem

That title is an exaggeration, but at-least Finland has some kind of facility to handle nuclear waste. Is it safe? Sure! But: Is is save for long enough?

Climate Change = More Extremes

It's really not that complicated and here are two quick videos:

• We're making hurricanes stronger (54 seconds)
• Climate-Fueled Disasters (1:54 minutes)

OSS and OSH/OSHW

Here's a great paper and some of the associated resources - it's pretty cool what you can do nowadays with open-source software and hardware. That being said: I have seen too many crappy weather stations for one reason or another (see pic below) - making consistemt and high-quality environmental measurements is complex, especially in harsh environments.

• Chan et al. (2021): Low-cost electronic sensors for environmental research: Pitfalls and opportunities
• http://www.freestation.org/home
• King's College London Geocomputation on GitHub

Honest Government Ad | Carbon Capture and Storage

This is awesome: Honest Government Ad | Carbon Capture and Storage

Unlearning Racism in Geoscience (URGE)

Unlearning Racism in Geoscience (URGE) ran a 16-week program in the Spring of 2021 using a cool 'pod' idea where interested individuals and organization formed pods of 12 people to work-through each of the 8 two-week units. The program is obviously over, but the curriculum remains accessible and it would not be too difficult to modify & run this program 'stand-alone' and include other STEM fields such as Biology or Environmental Science.

• The URGE Curriculum
• Example of a deliverable (2YC URGE)

Laura Guertin shared her 'pod' experience over on her GeoEd Trek Blog.

Climate at a Glance

Climate at a Glance (from NOAA) is simple and effective: see the data as a table or chart, then DL for further analysis.

Fires & Smoke

Plenty of maps like that - this one now has the smoke forecast layer: https://livingatlas.arcgis.com/wildfire/#@=-96.003,32.304,4

Cattle & Palm Oil = Deforestation

Great article from NASA: Sizing Up How Agriculture Connects to Deforestation. In-general, deforestation in South America is driven by cattle pastures whereas deforestation in Southeast Asia is driven by palm oil production.