U.S. Oil Consumption infographic

The United States Oil Consumption infographic from the Christensen Law Firm looks at the massive amounts of oil we use in this country.  Where does it come from?  How do we use it?  How does the U.S. compare to the rest of the world?

Have you ever asked yourself how much you actually know about the oil you use? Many politicians and media outlets discuss U.S. oil consumption as if the average American understands what the reality of U.S. oil habits are and the extent of our dependence on foreign oil sources. U.S. Oil Usage is an attempt to educate the average person about where U.S. oil comes from, how it is being used and how U.S. consumption compares with that of other major oil consumers. The information is both shocking and concerning!

I think the first doughnut chart that breaks down the imports by country, should have included the domestic oil as well to put the imports into proper context.  We don’t get 21% of our oil from Canada, we get 21% of our imported oil from Canada.  That’s a difference that could be misinterpreted by the reader.

Personally, I thought more of the oil was used by the airline industry, but automotive is completely dominant.

Thanks to Jake for sending in the link!

What BP Could Have Bought With All the Money They Lost [infographic]

From VisualEconomics.com “What BP Could Have Bought With All the Money They Lost” is a long, side-scrolling visual of some examples of what BP could have done with $100,000,000,000.  I like the use of photos to help tell the story, and it stands out from the crowd by scrolling to the side instead of down.

Two things I think are wrong about this one though.  Although all of the possible expenditures add up, the number values aren’t visualized in any way.  Also the $100,000,000,000 is the loss in stock market capitalization, not $3.5B in cash that BP has spent on recovery efforts.  It’s not actually money that BP has spent.

Crude Awakening - Gulf Spill Infographic

This is a very comprehensive, detail-heavy infographic designed by Carol Zuber-Mallison at ZM Graphics for InfographicsWorld.com.  Including map data, a timeline, a few pie and bar charts, a schematic of the different fix scenarios and a visual of almost 4,000 squares.

“I usually do print work; this is my first piece specifically for social media.  It just kept getting bigger and bigger as things continued to get worse in the Gulf.

I built it in four frantic days.  There’s some things O would have done differently but when you’re working that fast you’re just putting stuff together with prayer and duct tape.  Design takes a back seat to trying to get the information right.

This is an ongoing news event so things are constantly changing and I hope to update it at least once a week.  (If you’ve found an error, please e-mail me so I can fix it.)”

— Carol Zuber-Mallison

Thanks to Justin Beegel from InfographicsWord.com for sending in the link!

BP Oil Relief Plan Infographic

BP has released this infographic, Relief Wells & Subsea Containment, showing how they plan to seal the oil well leak in the Gulf of Mexico, and the current progress at 8,788ft.

British Petroleum intends to drill two wells designed to intersect the original wellbore above the oil reservoir. This will allow heavy fluid to be pumped into the well which will stop the flow of oil from the reservoir. Cement will then be pumped down to permanently seal the well.

BP needs to cement 7 casings into place before the relief well can intersect with the main drill pipe which is pouring approximately 5,000 barrels of oil per day into the ocean. They have completed 3 casings, with 4 remaining. They have reached a drill depth of just below 10,000 feet, with another 8,000 feet remaining. At about 12,000 feet they will begin angling toward the center of the damaged oil pipe.

BP has estimated that the project will require 90 days to complete the first relief well.

Original post on HollywoodBackstage.com, found on VizWorld.com

Is the U.S. Too Dependent on Foreign Oil? (infographic)

The U.S. imports 60% of its oil requirements, and this infographic map shows the top 10 countries that are sending us their oil.  I think it will actually be quite surprising to most Americans how little is imported from the Middle East.

As much as 66 percent of all US crude oil is imported from other countries, and the amount of oil imported from OPEC nations is roughly equal to the amount of oil produced domestically. Petroleum, natural gas and coal are the primary sources of energy consumed in the United States because they are the most energy rich resources available. So far, renewables have only been capable of providing a small portion of total energy consumption, and their contribution to energy consumption has remained limited over the last two decades. However, with increasing government and private focus on green energy sources, renewables are likely to go from strength to strength in the near future.

Here's the original article by Callum James from ngoilgas.com.

"The Graph" - The Future of Solar Power

Known as "The Graph" in scientific circles, this chart projects the future of solar power.  It was highlighted in a Fast Company article in December 2008.

The Graph was created by a scientific organization that counsels the German government, but it has since become a prized piece of propaganda, embedded in glossy brochures and PowerPoint presentations by solar companies from California to gray-skied Saxony. At the left-hand, present-tense end of the scale, solar power is a microscopic pencil line of gold against the thick, dark bands of oil and natural gas and coal, an accurate representation of the 0.04% of the world's electricity produced by solar power as of 2006. The band grows slowly thicker for 20 years or so, and then around 2040 a dramatic inversion occurs. The mountain-peak lines indicating the various fossil fuels all fall steeply away, leaving a widening maw of golden light as solar power expands to fill the space. By 2060, solar power is the largest single band, and by 2100 it is by far the majority share.

The Rush to Wind Farms!

The rush to wind farming is an interesting article in The Atlantic.  With Federal subsidies, its almost like a land rush.  The planned expansion of wind farm sites is impressive.

Thanks for sending in the link Garrett (also posted on Capturing Ephemera)!

Who Owns the Car Companies? (UPDATE)

TooManyCars.com has updated their family tree style poster of how all of the car companies are related. The latest updates were as of 4/1/08. They have also changed to better software used to zoom into the poster. Each of rectangles you see on the images will zoom in close so you can read the details about the connections.

They've really done a good job tracking down the specific types of relationships and the ownership portions between the companies. High-res PNG or PDF files are also available.

Harnessing the Wind

From the Telegraph in the UK, the idea is to use a kite to help pull a ship across the ocean. by using the wind power at high altitudes the ship would save on energy consumption.

Its inventor, Stephan Wrage, a 34-year-old German engineer, claims the kite will significantly reduce carbon emissions, cutting diesel consumption by up to 20 per cent and saving £800 a day in fuel costs.

Found on digg.com

The Price of Gasoline

This image was real popular on Digg.com this week. It's hosted on tinypic.com, but there's no author listed.

I love simple infographics like this that use a visual metaphor to instantly get the point across. You can tell someone that the price of gas is comparable with Coke, but putting gas in the Coke signature bottle will get more people to understand the message.

My own reaction was probably the opposite of what the author intended. My first thought is "Coke costs how much?!?" I know there is a lot more expense in producing gasoline than there is in producing Coke. They must really be marking the price up a lot for brown sugar-water.

There is a similar analogy in the U.S. regarding bottled water. Some bottled water brands are now more expensive than gasoline! How is that possible?!?