Transparency

Infographic: How Do Americans Feel About the Bin Laden Mission?

Column Five Media — Thu, 5 May 2011 12:00:00 PDT

With President Obama fresh off the press conference podium, a joint USA Today/Gallup poll asked the American public how they feel about the U.S. mission to kill elusive Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Do they approve of it? Who do they think most deserves credit?

A collaboration between GOOD and Column Five Media

Infographic: What Congress Would Look Like If It Really Represented America

Cord Jefferson — Fri, 1 Apr 2011 12:30:00 PDT

America is getting more and more diverse—for instance, our Hispanic population grew by 43 percent in the past decade alone—but you'd never be able to tell it by looking at our Congress. Here's what the House and Senate look like today, and what they would look like if they were demographically representative of our nation.

One thing not noted on this infographic is that, besides being nothing like America in terms of race, sex, or religion, our senators and representatives are also wholly different from most Americans in terms of wealth. We've said this before, but it bears repeating: The average American's net worth is $96,000. But the average Senator's net worth? $13.4 million. For House members that sum drops to "just" $5 million.

Does this represent your community?

Correction: This post originally suggested that there were no atheists in Congress. There is! His name is Pete Stark. We regret the error

Infographic: Welcome to North Korea!

Column Five Media — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 11:00:00 PDT

For more than half a century, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea—otherwise known as North Korea or the DPRK—has successfully wrapped itself in an impenetrable fortress of armed checkpoints and barbed wire. In an effort to bolster its dismal economy, however, the country has recently eased its travel restrictions and edged open its gates to curious travelers. What should you expect in such a secretive destination?

A collaboration between GOOD and Column Five Media

Sources: CNNGo, World Travel Guide, TripBase.com, WikiTravel.org, BBC, KTG, Koryo Tours

Transparency: Where Will the Next Earthquake Hit?

GOOD — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 07:00:00 PST

A year after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, people everywhere have been speculating about when and where the next cataclysmic one will hit our shores. If major quakes occur approximately 15 times a year around the world, where will the next one hit?

A collaboration between GOOD and Column Five Media.

Transparency: What's Up with China's One-Child Policy

GOOD — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 07:00:00 PST

In 1979, the National Population and Family Planning Commission in China enacted an ambitious program that called for strict population control. Families in various urban districts are urged to have only one child—preferably a son—in order to solve the problems related to overpopulation. What has happened since then and what are its implications for the future of China?

A collaboration between GOOD and Column Five Media

Transparency: The Best and Worst Countries in Which to Pay Taxes

GOOD — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 15:00:00 PST

You probably just received your tax forms in the mail. If you think your taxes are complicated, though, imagine a business's tax forms. PricewaterhouseCoopers recently completed a survey of how easy it is for businesses to pay taxes in every country in the world, based on a variety of categories. The United States ranked 64th of out 183 countries surveyed. Here are, for comparison, the countries with the simplest (and cheapest) and most complicated (and most expensive) tax systems.

SOURCE PricewaterhouseCoopers

A collaboration between GOOD and Bradley R. Hughes.

Transparency: America's Absurdly High Incarceration Rate

GOOD — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 07:00:00 PST

The United States is often touted as the Land of the Free. However, its overcrowded prisons and jails, brimming with inmates at an unprecedented rate, paints a very different picture.

A collaboration between GOOD and Column Five Media

Transparency: Paying the Same Amount for Smaller Products

GOOD — Tue, 8 Feb 2011 07:00:00 PST

You might think you're getting what you pay for at the supermarket, but you're actually getting a little less. A recent investigation by Consumer Reports found that many of the everyday items you buy have been suspiciously shrinking, despite no similar reduction in cost. Does that orange juice feel a little lighter? That's because it is, even though you paid the same amount. Here's a look at some of these products and how much they've shrunk.

SOURCE: Consumer Reports

A collaboration between GOOD and Bradley R. Hughes

Transparency: Who's Who in the Mexican Drug Wars

GOOD — Thu, 3 Feb 2011 07:00:00 PST

The ongoing drug trade in Mexico has been one of the nation's chief concerns for some time now. But the level of gruesome violence has escalated to near catastrophic proportions since President Felipe Calderon took office in December, 2006, creating virtual ghost towns as people have sought refuge in safer states. This violence has primarily been perpetrated by seven drug cartels, all of which are vying for territory and power.

A collaboration between GOOD and Column Five Media.

Transparency: The Future of NASA

GOOD — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 07:00:00 PST

The space agency just announced that the last shuttle mission would be in June. How is NASA going to spend its resources if it's not manning the shuttle program? Our new infographic examines the future of American space exploration.

A collaboration between GOOD and Column Five.

Transparency: The Most Profitable Concert Tours of 2010

GOOD — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 10:30:00 PST

The music industry might be dying, but people are still shelling out big money to see their favorite artists on tour. They just aren't the same artists who are topping the charts. These are the highest grossing concert tours in the United States in 2010.

SOURCE: Pollstar

A collaboration between GOOD and Bradley R. Hughes

Transparency: Which Companies Spent the Most on Advertising Last Year?

GOOD — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 07:00:00 PST

Companies want your attention, and they're willing to pay for it. In the first three quarters of 2010 (January through September), businesses spent more than $94 billion in advertising fees. These are the companies that paid the most for your attention in that time.

SOURCE: Kantar Media

A collaboration between GOOD and Bradley R. Hughes

Transparency: Are the Richest Americans Also the Best Educated?

GOOD — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 07:00:00 PST

The latest data from the U.S. Census's American Community Survey paints a fascinating picture of the United States at the county level. We've looked the educational achievement and the median income of the entire nation, to see where people are going to school, where they're earning money, and if there is any correlation.

CORRECTION: We've fixed an error in the border between Idaho and Montana. We apologize.

SOURCE: American Community Survey

A collaboration between GOOD and Greg Hubacek

Interactive Transparency: America's Energy, Where It's From and How It's Used

GOOD — Thu, 6 Jan 2011 06:00:00 PST

To fully understand the energy issue, we have to understand how America gets its energy, and how it uses it. When you see the full picture, the problems (we waste a lot of energy) and the potential solutions (we have just barely cracked into renewable energy) become more clear. Here from solar to coal, is how much of our energy comes from each potential source, and where those sources go.

SOURCE: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (PDF)

A collaboration between GOOD and Hyperakt.

Transparency: The Biggest News Stories of 2010

GOOD — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 07:00:00 PST

This is a look back at stories that kept us transfixed in 2010, from the still-bad economy to the Chilean miners and everything in between. It's based on measurements of the total television, radio, and internet reporting done by Journalism.org.

The infographic is very large, we recommend downloading and viewing it on your computer.

SOURCE: Journalism.org

A collaboration between GOOD and Greg Hubacek

Transparency: GOOD's Most Popular Infographics of 2010

GOOD — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 07:00:00 PST

In the last year, we've released a nearly 100 original infographics. Here is a look back at the ones that drew the most attention, on topics from happiness to Burning Man (click on the images to launch the infographics).

1: Mean Happiness

This piece, which tracks happiness in countries over time, was designed by OPEN. See all their work for GOOD here.

2: The Almighty Dollar

This piece, by Column Five Media, showed how much money different religions have. Hindus are doing quite well. You can see all of CFM's work for GOOD here.

3: Most Targeted Books

Stanford Kay's piece looked at the books that parents most often ask to have removed from libraries. Gay penguins, Twilight's vampires, and Holden Caufield all made the cut. See all of Kay's work for GOOD here.

4: Dead Man Walking

This piece, which compares the pedestrian fatality rate in European and U.S. cities, is by Amanda Buck. See all of Buck's GOOD work here.

5: Someone in America Loves You

Also by OPEN, this piece looks at American sentiment about countries around the world with some cheeky postcards: "Welcome to Iran. It's Radical!"

6: Drugged Culture

Another piece by Stanford Kay, showing how many millions of prescriptions for psychiatric drugs are written in America.

7: How You Will Get Hurt at Burning Man

Just in time for a trip to the playa, this piece by Hyperakt looked at all the injury reports at the festival for the last three years. See more of Hyperakt's work with GOOD here.

8: Data Removal Service

Governments are constantly asking Google to remove sensitive information from its search engines. This piece, by Mgmt.design, looks at which governments make the most requests, and for what reasons. See all of Mgmt's work for GOOD here.

9: Border Battle

After North Korea's attack on its southern neighbor, we produced this piece, also with Column Five, on the warring nations' fighting capacity.

10: Haitian Aid

Design Language's piece looked at who had given aid to Haiti just a few weeks after the earthquake. Note that these numbers are certainly no longer accurate, but they do show who was the fastest to react. See all of Design Language's work with GOOD here.

Transparency: Which States Have the Drunkest Drivers

GOOD — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 15:30:00 PST

A new national survey by the U.S Department of Health and Human Services found that 13.2 percent of people over 16 drove while intoxicated in the past year, while 4.3 percent drove while under the influence of drugs. Where in the country are people making the best and worst decisions about their driving?

CORRECTION: Because of an editing error, the graphic does not fully list the states with the highest rates of drunk and drugged driving.

North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Wyoming should all also be listed as in the top quintile of drunk driving. Wisconsin (23.7 percent) and North Dakota (22.4 percent) are the states with the highest levels.

New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont should all also be listed as in the top quintile of drugged driving. Rhode Island (7.8 percent) and Vermont (6.6 percent) are the states with the highest levels.

We regret the error.

SOURCE: The NSDUH Report: State Estimates of Drunk and Drugged Driving

A collaboration between GOOD and Greg Hubacek

Transparency: The Origins of Electricity, Tesla vs. Edison

GOOD — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 13:00:00 PST

You would have never found two geniuses so spiteful of each other beyond turn-of-the-century inventors Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison. They worked together—and hated each other. Let's compare their lives, achievements, and embittered battles in our latest infographic.

A collaboration between GOOD and Column Five Media.