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Department of Energy loads 240 graphs and maps onto Flickr

Looking to be transparent, the US government agency brings data-driven energy usage charts, which include everything from crude oil production to wind generation to gasoline prices, to the web.

Dara Kerr Former senior reporter
Dara Kerr was a senior reporter for CNET covering the on-demand economy and tech culture. She grew up in Colorado, went to school in New York City and can never remember how to pronounce gif.
Dara Kerr
2 min read

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Changes in crude oil production on federal and Indian lands from 2003 to 2013. US Energy Information Administration

Curious about the amount of coal production going on in Kentucky? What about the US's energy-related carbon dioxide emissions? Or, the average retail price of regular gasoline in the US?

Now, this and much more information is publicly available from the US Energy Information Administration on Flickr. The government agency, which works under the US Department of Energy, loaded more than 240 images onto its Flickr page on Monday. These images are full of data-driven charts, graphs, and maps about US energy consumption.

Within the images, one can find a whole host of information on crude oil production, electricity usage, gasoline, natural gas production, refinery data, wind generation, and more. Users can sort the images by state to get specific details on energy production, consumption, and prices for certain areas.

Looking at the images, users can see particular energy trends in the US, such as rising crude oil and natural gas production, a growth in renewable energy, and transportation bottlenecks from moving energy supplies by railroads, truck, and boat.

By making this information publicly available and easily accessible, it appears the US government is working to be more transparent about the country's energy data. Indeed, in the about section of its website, EIA writes that it "shall strive for transparency about such information and methods in order to improve users' understanding and to facilitate reproducibility."

Besides the hundreds of charts, graphs, and maps, EIA has also released other energy information tools over the past year, including a coal data browser and electricity data browser. The White House has also recently let loose a bunch of government data sets and maps for its newly launched "Climate Data Initiative."