Chart assignment

Charts to read and discuss

Read each chart, then answer its questions. Every chart shows its source and date; open it for a table of the numbers and the data to download.

  1. How many Americans die of drug overdoses each year?
  2. Where does US electricity come from?

Chart 1 of 2 · Health

How many Americans die of drug overdoses each year?

The interactive chart needs JavaScript. The numbers are on the chart's page.

65,351 people died of drug overdoses in the US in the 12 months ending May 2026, about 41% fewer than at the peak of about 111,500 in the 12 months ending June 2023. The counts are provisional: the latest months are slightly undercounted while some causes of death are still being investigated. CDC's provisional counts start with the 12 months ending January 2015.

Questions to discuss

  1. In one sentence of your own, what does this chart show?
  2. Find the biggest change or difference in the chart. What might explain it?
  3. Who collected these numbers, and how recent are they? What else would you want to know before drawing a conclusion?

Source: CDC National Center for Health Statistics, Provisional drug overdose death counts (Public domain (U.S. government work)) · Data as of May 31, 2026

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Chart 2 of 2 · Energy

Where does US electricity come from?

The interactive chart needs JavaScript. The numbers are on the chart's page.

In 2025 natural gas made 40.8% of US electricity, followed by nuclear (17.7%) and coal (16.6%). Wind made 10.5% and solar 6.7%. Solar counts only utility-scale plants, not rooftop panels, and the 2025 figures are preliminary.

How to read this chart

Each bar is one energy source's share of all the electricity made in the U.S. in a year, so the bars add up to about 100%. The bars start at zero, so a bar twice as long means twice the share. Solar counts only large power plants, not panels on rooftops.

Questions to discuss

  1. Which source makes the most electricity? About how many times more than the smallest bar?
  2. Which of these sources burn fuel and which don't? What share of electricity comes from each group?
  3. Why might a chart of this kind look different in your state than for the whole country?

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Monthly Energy Review (Table 7.2a) (Public domain (U.S. government work)) · Data as of Dec 31, 2025

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