Objective data

EnvAid data visualizations

UKCS oil spill risk analysis 1975-2017, information

Data, Publications

UKCS PON1 spill data analysis

This report provides perhaps the most comprehensive analysis of the UKCS PON1 records to date. The analysis was undertaken to inform the assessment of spill risk on the UKCS. The study may also serve to inform the spill risk assessment of the offshore oil and gas industry in general.

Global cumulative CO2 emissions/emissies 1850-2010, information

Cumulative CO₂ emissions

This graph shows the Global CO₂ emissions for the period 1850 to 2010. The country with the largest historic CO2 emissions is the USA. More than half of the CO₂ emissions were recorded after 1980.

Energy use vs Income 1960-2010, information

Global CO₂ intensity

The graph tells the story of global CO₂ emissions during the period 1960-2010. Countries generally increase their CO₂ emissions in a linear fashion with their use of energy. Per capita energy consumption differs greatly between individual OECD countries.

EU Carbon Intensity 1960-2010, information

EU Carbon Intensity

This graph shows CO₂ emissions and carbon intensity for the countries of the European Union for the period 1960 to 2010. The carbon intensity of the energy use in Europe has reduced by 50% but this has been offset by a doubling of the energy use per individual.

Energy use vs life expectance 1960-2010, information

Global energy consumption

The graph tells the story of global energy use of the period 1960-2010. Lifting communities out of poverty does require the use of energy but not necessarily to raise life expectancy to 70+ years.

The title that I chose for this page is indicative of one of the key questions of environmental communication: what information can be trusted? In theory, data is just a piece of information; a length, a volume, a mass. In the practice of environmental communication it becomes an argument in support of a cause. And if, as I suggest, the environmental debate is indeed polarized, data is the equivalent to ammunition in a fight or war. Data can be manipulated, misrepresented, concealed and even invented. Personally, I am most interested in the effect of the collective unconscious (or our common cultural inheritance) on the reliability of environmental information. Is it a lie when the collector of the data isn’t aware of her own bias? And why is data so ineffective in changing people’s minds?

Some environmental information is readily available whereas other information is not. Environmental data that is easy to find includes: the emissions and discharges of industrial processes, national atmospheric emissions, gas mileage per type of transport, environmental disasters, pollutant concentrations, annual data and short term trends. Information that is more challenging to collect includes long term trends, pollution levels associated with consumables (imported or exported) and data that demonstrate improvements in environmental performance. There doesn’t appear to be any data about: individual levels of pollution and the environmental effects of live-enhancing medical interventions.

People that aim to set the record straight include Hans Rosling and his team at Gapminder.org and Max Roser with his web publication “Our World in Data”. Hans Rosling is renowned for the way in which he was able to present a lot of data in a very accessible manner. I hope you will enjoy his series of TED talks as much as I did. Please also have a look at their Dollar Street project, which provides a visual cross section of the global community; highlighting the resemblance between diverse people with similar incomes. See embedded TED Talk by Anna Rosling Rönnlund below. Max Roser’s “Our World in Data” is an on-line publication that presents the empirical evidence on the development of human living conditions at a global scale. Please have a look at his unique data visualizations of the changes in our world, ranging from population growth to interpersonal trust.

Bop Parsons

Anything that is measured
and watched,
improves.