An Overview of the Three Display Modes

Economy Map displays the overall environmental and human health impacts of the US economy in one of three modes: as a network of impacts flowing among industry sectors; as a grid of impact magnitudes of industry sectors; or as a bar graph of the top 20 sectors per impact category.  And each display mode sorts the industrial sectors of the US economy according to one of three perspectives: by direct impacts; by intermediate consumption impacts; and by final consumption impacts.  Different modes and perspectives are useful for answering different questions about the sources of significant environmental impacts and how to address them.  The screenshots below highlight the format and user interface features of each of the three display modes.

In network mode, the economy is shown as a network of impact flows, organized according to one of three perspectives (direct, intermediate, or final consumption).  This mode shows all of the impacts generated across the entire US economy for a specific impact category (e.g. global warming).  The vertical stack in the center shows all 480 major industrial sectors in the US economy, in descending order of importance from the currently selected perspective.

In grid mode, the 480 sectors are arranged in a grid of circles, with the size of each sector’s circle representing its relative contribution to total impacts, across the entire economy, for the currently selected impact category.  Clicking on a sector highlights that sector and displays a detail table indicating the relative rank and contribution of the sector to each of the impact categories (e.g. global warming, acidification).

In bar graph mode, the 20 sectors contributing most to a specific impact category, based on the currently selected perspective, are displayed in descending order.  The two other perspectives are also displayed, for each sector, in a pale tone.  An optional pie chart represents the share of total impacts contributed by the top 20 sectors.