vtTownie t1_j0xb80z wrote on December 20, 2022 at 2:36 AM

Reply to comment by noiamholmstar in Chart: What's the top source of electricity in your state? by MrMike

That’s not misleading; top source is largest share, majority would be >50%.

noiamholmstar t1_j0za314 wrote on December 20, 2022 at 3:04 PM

Right, but focusing on “top share” misses a lot of detail. You could have one state where the the majority is renewables, but no single renewable category exceeds coal, so coal is listed. And you could have another that gets 90% of its energy from coal, and on this diagram they both look the same. That’s what I mean by misleading. It’s technically correct but it’s only part of the truth.

vtTownie t1_j0zefja wrote on December 20, 2022 at 3:35 PM

That wasn’t the point of the map though. That’s a totally different measure if you’re comparing fossil fuels to renewables. This was by generation source. None of this is misleading, you’re just wanting to look at something completely different.

noiamholmstar t1_j0zhaes wrote on December 20, 2022 at 3:54 PM

It’s taking a single data point out of context of the broader picture. That’s fair criticism of the way that data is being presented. If the map also showed the percentage for the largest share, then I would have no issue with it.

vtTownie t1_j0zho5o wrote on December 20, 2022 at 3:57 PM

It’s literally “largest source of energy in every state.” It shows exactly what it is claiming to depict. You’re wanting it to show something different than what it does depict. You’re dense as hell.

noiamholmstar t1_j0zlm7l wrote on December 20, 2022 at 4:23 PM

I agree that it shows what it states, but focusing on that is of very limited value without additional information. You might be condescending as hell and consider that beautiful, but I don’t.