Hello and welcome to another edition of The Crunch!
In this week’s newsletter we have charts on how the AI boom is shaping power use, how Australia lags behind other countries in acknowledging the causes of global heating, a map showing how South Korean activists are launching message balloons into North Korea, a beautiful visualisation of Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1, the deadly toll of Israel’s offensive on journalists, and a swathe of charts about nuclear power.
But first … how Tory neglect flooded Britain’s rivers with sewage
As the election campaign rolls on in the UK, our colleagues have been producing a bunch of great data-driven reporting.
This feature traces pollution along the Thames, and reports that for voters, including many in Tory heartlands, the polluting of Britain’s rivers is among the most egregious legacies of 14 years of Conservative rule.
There’s also some great visualisations on which high-profile Conservatives might lose their seats, and how the Lib Dems might double their seats despite fewer votes.
Some of these stories also feature a lovely approach of hand-designed collages, which you can read about here.
Four charts from the fortnight
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1. AI is wreaking havoc on global power systems
The rise in demand for datacentres, driven in no small part by the hype around AI systems, is fuelling an increase in demand for electricity:
This excellent, in-depth feature from Bloomberg charts the rise of data centre electricity demand, how it may outstrip the supply of electricity from renewables, and more.
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2. How South Korean activists are using balloons to send messages into North Korea
Reuters has a visual feature looking at a group of South Korean activists that are using new technology, like 3D printers, to make “smart balloons” equipped with GPS and automatic leaflet dispensers.
They send these balloons north, bearing speakers and leaflets with pre-recorded messages critical of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
North Korea is taking part in the balloon offensive also, sending back balloons laden with garbage, according to Reuters.
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3. Only 60% of Australians accept climate disruption is human-caused, global poll finds
A French survey of 26 countries finds fewer Australians than global average agree that climate change is the greatest health threat facing humanity:
The polling shows Australians are among the most sceptical around the world that climate disruption is being caused by humans and that the costs of tackling it will be less than that of its impacts. You can read more here.
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4. Israeli offensive takes deadly toll on journalists
Probably one of the simplest visualisations we’ve ever featured in this newsletter, but no less effective for it being only a simple tally:
This tally shows the number of journalists killed in Gaza during the Israeli offensive up to 10 February. A Guardian investigation suggests that amid a loosening of the Israel Defense Forces’ interpretation of the laws of war after the deadly Hamas-led attacks on 7 October, some within the IDF appear to have viewed journalists working in Gaza for outlets controlled by or affiliated with Hamas to be legitimate military targets.
Spotlight on … nuclear power!
A roundup of nuclear-related charts in light of the Australian Coalition’s proposal to build at least seven nuclear reactors.
How expensive would nuclear energy be in Australia compared with other electricity sources? Pretty expensive!
We also made a map of the locations, which you can see here.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg is reporting there will be a predicted shortfall in the global uranium supply as demand surges, meaning the price is surging.
Off the charts
Guillermina Schneider from Datawrapper has produced this delightful approach to visualising a piece of music:
Each dot is a note from Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1, with the clockwise position indicating the note’s place in the music, with the size indicating duration, and distance from the centre indicating pitch. I’d love to see an animated version synced-up with the music!
Help test our new chart accessibility feature
If you’re blind or have low vision, or you know someone who is, we’re looking for people to help test our noisycharts accessibility feature. Noisycharts lets you hear the trends in the data, and also lets you interact with the data point-by-point using a cursor mode. We’re looking for feedback on noisycharts before we launch it, so if you have a spare ten minutes please check out the demo charts and respond to a short survey here.
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