Three Thursday Things 05: Three Bar Charts
I haven’t done a Three Thursday Things in weeks, so I’ll remind you how it works: I suggest three things that have delighted, inspired, or 🤩 wowed 🤩 me in the past week-ish. Usually there’s a theme. Today it’s bar charts I’ve encountered “in the wild”.
1. Covid-19 Death Rate by vaccination status in Switzerland
From Our World in Data, this bar chart does an excellent job of showing that unvaccinated individuals die from Covid-19 at a much higher rate than those who have been vaccinated, but also showcases a lesser-cited fact: individuals who have had a booster shot have a significantly lower death rate than those with just the first series (or dose, in the case of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine) of jabs. The link is worth visiting — there are several interactive charts on the topic. The article also emphasizes the importance of considering death rate versus raw number of deaths.
2. The environmental impact of dairy milk versus plant-based milks
This episode of Thrilling Tales of Modern Capitalism inspired my recent deep-dive into the environmental impact of plant-based milks. (The episode is also an all-around enjoyable telling of the story of oat milk — there are a few unexpected twists!)
I’m vegan. I’ve been drinking plant-based milks since you had only two options: soy or rice. When almond milk came on the scene and I had occasion to try it at a coffee bar, I became a convert. I would rotate soy and almond. The past few years — pandemics, wildfires, an attempted overthrow of the U.S. government and whatnot aside — have been great. For vegan convenience foods and drinks, anyway.
The Tampa Bay area is basically vegan paradise (and that’s a major reason I stay here despite working 100% remotely), and even the most vanilla chain grocery has a handful of options in each aisle. Almond milk’s reputation became a bit tarnished when it was revealed how much water is required to produce it, so I guess the marketplace was ready for a new product. Enter Oatly. I didn’t like the idea of oat milk at first — it just didn’t sound appealing to me. I was a hater and it bit me in the bum. I had Oatly at a Baltimore coffee shop when they were out of coconut milk (my more recent plant milk preference). SO GOOD. It froths. It’s rich. It’s creamy. The advertising on the carton is silly.
Back to the bar chart. It’s very effective at showing all three of the environmental impacts within seconds: just how much more water is needed to produce almond milk, the rank of plant-based milks by emissions, and the incredible difference in land use required for dairy milk versus all plant-based milks. Coincidentally — at least I think it’s a coincidence! — the BBC’s chart uses a very similar color palette as the Our World in Data chart above. I don’t blame them — it’s an appealing color palette that avoids evoking a strong reaction in any particular direction but still highlights the data.
3. Americans waste 31% of fish we raise for food and kill.
I swear I didn’t plan it this way, but I really did encounter a second bar chart related to our consumption (or non-consumption) of animals for food in the same week as I came across the plant milk chart!
This stacked bar chart is from Vox’s Instagram account. The visualization in the article is fine, too, but this one caught my eye because it has everything I want in a bar chart — a descriptive title, non-redundant labels, an emphasized x-axis, and an appealing color palette.
If you’ve seen any fantastic bar charts lately, send them my way!
Three Bar Charts was originally published in SELECT * FROM data; on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.