6/22/2011 Maps Communicate Actionable Information

In his June 20, 2011 blog click here for blog, David Kroodsma references the Flood map and Drought map on the USGS WaterWatch website click here for link


David's firm (Climate Central) built an interactive tool that links directly to the USGS map of real-time streamflow:

At a glance, the streamflow map shows (with thematically colored locations) where there is too much water (flooding) and too little water (drought). Immediately, the idea of "pipeline from flood to drought" pops into my head. Google it, and, aside from numerous website postings and blog comments, we find references to the "National Smart Water Grid" and "House of Representatives (H.R.) Bill 135 (Twenty-First Century Water Commission Act of 2009) would establish the Twenty-First Century Water Commission to study and develop recommendations for a comprehensive water strategy to address future water needs."

According to govtrack.us click here for link, the bill was introduced January 6, 2009, and, on February 4, 2009, was Referred to the House Natural Resources/Subcommittee on Water and Power. It never got out of Subcommittee, and is therefore dead. The proposer of the bill, Representative John Linder (R-GA7), retired from Congress at the end of 2010; his successor in Georgia's 7th congressional district is Rob Woodall, who took office in January 2011. It is unknown if Rep. Woodall will re-introduce the bill.

govtrack.us provides a link identifying the 48 members of the House Committee on Natural Resources click here for link. I urge you to look at the list - if your representative is there, you should write him/her expressing your concern about the lack of movement in solving our country's Infrastructure Problems - the National Smart Water Grid would solve today's problem of flooding-and-drought.

Maps Communicate Actionable Information - once we identify it, let's solve the problem!

6/19/2011 Maps for the 2010 Census, Part 2

It has been a great experience watching the emergence of GIS and Thematic Cartography over the past 10 years. The ubiquity of Google Maps and in-vehicle navigation systems has made everyone more "Geo-aware". Working off this greater geo-awareness, the private-sector media has expanded its presentations of Thematic Maps. I especially like those in USA Today:


Here is the link to the "Unmarried couples" map/article:Unmarried couples map/article


Here is the link to the "Fewer kids" map/article:Fewer kids map/article

3 reasons why I like these maps:
- the # of ranges is manageableFor a single-color ramp (the blues in the Unmarried map), 5 ranges from white-to-dark-blue is easily comprehended, and clustering (or lack thereof) is readily apparent. The "Fewer kids" map is actually easier: 2 color ramps of only 3 colors each (3 above-and-below the U.S. average), with the colors going from light-to-dark according to intensity.
- the borders do not get in the way of the maps Although the data is presented at the county-level, the county boundaries are very subtle in both cases (light blue or light gray). This allows both the colors to stand-on-their-own, and the states themselves can be identified by their own unique black borders.
- the use of color ramps In the Unmarried map, I intuitively understand that dark-blue is "more" than light-blue/white. Knowing this allows me to concentrate on the map, and not have to keep referring back to the legend (is blue higher than yellow? is green more than red?). Although the "Fewer kids" map has two sets of color-ramps, once I know the reds are more/gain and the blues are less/loss, I can just focus my attention on the map.

Another area of mapping at USA Today is their Census 2010 data page:
Here is the link to the USA Today Census 2010 data website:Census 2010 link

This website is interactive - click on a state, and the bar-graph statistics change appropriately while the new county-level map is drawn. It is very smooth and looks good. Needless to say, these visualizations are inspirational - I want to learn how to do this with my data!