Guardian Datablog Ooops: Windfarms in the UK
Brilliant data journalism from Simon Rogers at the Guardian Datablog:
What difference do anti-windfarm MPs make? Conservative MPs have written to prime minister David Cameron demanding cuts to support for onshore windfarms and easier ways to block them through planning objections. We thought it would be interesting to show where those MPs are based – and where windfarms are either working, planned or in planning. This map is the result – what patterns do you think it shows?
The data for anti-windfarm MPs is from Darren Shirley of WWF, MySociety and the windfarm map is from RenewableUK.
There’s a map of all the Windfarms in the UK, which is at the top of the post.
And it includes all the Windfarms in the UK at all the stages of the planning cycle, except the ones which are missing, as – for example – Mynydd Mynyllod Windfarm in North Wales (say that after a bottle of wine) with 25 x 500ft tall wind turbines:
(from KarenSTEMM in the comments)
Thank you for this and I’ve checked it carefully but the massive wind farm planned for Mynydd Mynyllod in North Wales isn’t on the list. I wonder how many more aren’t on there?
but it does include the windfarms in the UK in the Middle East:
- UK windfarms in the Middle East
(From top left clockwise: Orchard End Resubmission, Mars Complimentary Petcare, South Sharpley, Boardinghouse Farm, Burntwood Sewage Treatment Works.)
and it includes the windfarms in the UK in Finland:
- UK windfarms in Finland
(West Browncastle)
and it includes the windfarms in the UK in Atlantis:
- UK windfarms in the Middle East
(Crocknamona, Dunaree Hill, Binnwaooda)
Why can’t these MSM people even do basic ‘whoops’ checks on their data – such as looking at the whole map before they sign off the article?
What is so difficult?
I’m quite interested to know what actually happened, as Simon Rogers is usually good; it’s not as if he’s an ignoramus of the variety the Guardian often employs to write general columns.
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1
February 8, 2012 at 08:16 -
Are you disillusioned by rising electricity prices, over dependence on the “green” dream [especially uneconomical and inefficient wind farms] and the destruction of our countryside then please register your objection to the Government by GOOGLING “E-PETITION 22958″ and following the link.
Please pass this message on to Councillors, members of your community and anyone else you know to persuade them to sign up too.
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February 8, 2012 at 09:40 -
Isn’t this a general problem with using Google Maps?
The data is provided by people who would be useless at pin the tail on a donkey.
My local garage’s website included a bit of Google mapping that showed their premises five miles away from where they actually are.
Wicki-mapping doesn’t work!
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February 8, 2012 at 10:05 -
I’d expect it between postcodes, but not between eg Berkshire and Finland
, which is the bit I’m interested in – along with why a DataBlog didn’t do schoolboy sanity checks.Missing obscure faults that take complicated correlation or designed test cases is one thing; a data journalist missing something so obvious that it is virtually punching you on the nose is incredible.
In any environment I’ve worked in my bosses’ bosses’ boss would spot that in his 10s ‘approval’ inspection.
I’d also expect a complete unbiased dataset – even though Renewables UK are an industry lobby, so I think the missing farms are probably genuine oversights.
When I wanted to sell my house *just* far enough from the M1 to be comfortable and quiet enough, Google Maps halved the distance on the Estate Agent website from 125m to 60m by marking the centre of the postcode, and we lost at least a couple of viewings as a result.
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4
February 8, 2012 at 12:29 -
“The Rain in Maine falls mainly in the Seine” was the cheerful description invented a few years ago for the lamentable accuracy of the reported locations of the temperature measurement stations used in advancing The Cause of global warmongering.
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February 8, 2012 at 13:25 -
FYI, you can keep tracks of the miserly amount that wind contributes to the National Grid here – http://www.bmreports.com/bsp/bsp.php#generation_by_fuel_type_table
4% today, which is huge compared to the 0.1% it was managing yesterday.
, which is the bit I’m interested in – along with why a DataBlog didn’t do schoolboy sanity checks.
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