Energy

The Periodic Table of Endangered Elements

Published

9 months ago

August 31, 2022

David Cole-Hamilton

Featured Creator

Article/Editing:

Carmen Ang

periodic table showing elements and whether or not they are scarce

Click to view a larger version of the graphic.

The Periodic Table of Endangered Elements

The building blocks for everything on Earth are made from 90 different naturally occurring elements.

This visualization made by the European Chemical Society (EuChemS), shows a periodic table of these 90 different elements, highlighting which ones are in abundance and which ones are in serious threat as of 2021.

On the graphic, the area of each element relates to its number of atoms on a logarithmic scale. The color-coding shows whether there’s enough of each element, or whether the element is becoming scarce, based on current consumption levels.

Element	Full Name	Status
Ac	Actinium	Plentiful supply
Ag	Silver	Serious threat
AI	Aluminum	Plentiful supply
Ar	Argon	Plentiful supply
As	Arsenic	Serious threat
At	Astatine	Plentiful supply
Au	Gold	Limited availability
B	Boron	Limited availability
Ba	Barium	Plentiful supply
Be	Beryllium	Plentiful supply
Bi	Bismuth	Limited availability
Br	Bromine	Plentiful supply
C	Carbon	Plentiful supply / serious threat
Ca	Calcium	Plentiful supply
Cd	Cadmium	Rising threat
Ce	Cerium	Plentiful supply
CI	Chlorine	Plentiful supply
Co	Cobalt	Rising threat
Cr	Chromium	Rising threat
Cs	Cesium	Plentiful supply
Cu	Copper	Rising threat
Dy	Dysprosium	Rising threat
Er	Erbium	Plentiful supply
Eu	Europium	Plentiful supply
F	Flourine	Plentiful supply
Fe	Iron	Plentiful supply
Fr	Francium	Plentiful supply
Ga	Gallium	Serious threat
Gd	Gadolinium	Plentiful supply
Ge	Germanium	Serious threat
H	Hydrogen	Plentiful supply
He	Helium	Serious threat
Hf	Hafnium	Serious threat
Hg	Mercury	Limited availability
Ho	Holmium	Plentiful supply
I	Iodine	Plentiful supply
In	Indium	Serious threat
Ir	Iridium	Rising threat
K	Potassium	Plentiful supply
Kr	Krypton	Plentiful supply
La	Lanthanum	Plentiful supply
Li	Lithium	Limited availability
Lu	Lutetium	Plentiful supply
Mg	Magnesium	Limited availability
Mn	Manganese	Limited availability
Mo	Molybdenum	Limited availability
N	Nitrogen	Plentiful supply
Na	Sodium	Plentiful supply
Nb	Niobium	Limited availability
Nd	Neodymium	Limited availability
Ne	Neon	Plentify supply
Ni	Nickel	Limited availability
O	Oxygen	Plentiful supply
Os	Osmium	Rising threat
P	Phosphorus	Limited availability
Pa	Protactinium	Plentiful supply
Pb	Lead	Limited availability
Pd	Palladium	Rising threat
Po	Polonium	Plentiful supply
Pr	Praseodymium	Plentiful supply
Pt	Platinum	Rising threat
Ra	Radium	Plentiful supply
Rb	Rubidium	Plentiful supply
Re	Rhenium	Plentiful supply
Rh	Rhodium	Rising threat
Rn	Radon	Plentify supply
Ru	Ruthenium	Rising threat
Sb	Antimony	Limited availability
Sc	Scandium	Limited availability
Se	Selenium	Limited availability
Si	Silicon	Plentiful supply
S	Sulfur	Plentiful supply
Sm	Samarium	Plentiful supply
Sn	Tin	Limited availability
Sr	Strontium	Serious threat
Ta	Tantalum	Serious threat
Tb	Terbium	Plentiful supply
Te	Tellurium	Serious threat
Ti	Titanium	Plentiful supply
TI	Thalium	Limited availability
Tm	Thulium	Plentiful supply
V	Vanadium	Limited availability
W	Tungsten	Limited availability
Xe	Xenon	Plentiful supply
Y	Yttrium	Serious threat
Yb	Ytterbium	Plentiful supply
Zn	Zinc	Serious threat
Zr	Zirconium	Limited availability
Th	Thorium	Plentiful supply
U	Uranium	Rising threat

While these elements don’t technically run out and instead transform (except for helium, which rises and escapes from Earth’s atmosphere), some are being used up exceptionally fast, to the point where they may soon become extremely scarce.

One element worth pointing out on the graphic is carbon, which is three different colors: green, red, and dark gray.

Green, because carbon is in abundance (to a fault) in the form of carbon dioxide
Red, because it will soon cause a number of cataphoric problems if consumption habits don’t change
Gray because carbon-based fuels often come from conflict countries

For more elements-related content, check out our channel dedicated to raw materials and the megatrends that drive them, VC Elements.

This article was published as a part of Visual Capitalist's Creator Program, which features data-driven visuals from some of our favorite Creators around the world.

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Maps

Mapped: Renewable Energy and Battery Installations in the U.S. in 2023

This graphic describes new U.S. renewable energy installations by state along with nameplate capacity, planned to come online in 2023.

Published

1 week ago

May 30, 2023

Alan Kennedy

Renewable and Battery Installations in the U.S. in 2023

This was originally posted on Elements. Sign up to the free mailing list to get beautiful visualizations on real assets and resource megatrends each week.

Renewable energy, in particular solar power, is set to shine in 2023. This year, the U.S. plans to get over 80% of its new energy installations from sources like battery, solar, and wind.

The above map uses data from EIA to highlight planned U.S. renewable energy and battery storage installations by state for 2023.

Total U.S. renewable energy and battery installations, broken down by share

Texas and California Leading in Renewable Energy

Nearly every state in the U.S. has plans to produce new clean energy in 2023, but it’s not a surprise to see the two most populous states in the lead of the pack.

Even though the majority of its power comes from natural gas, Texas currently leads the U.S. in planned renewable energy installations. The state also has plans to power nearly 900,000 homes using new wind energy.

California is second, which could be partially attributable to the passing of Title 24, an energy code that makes it compulsory for new buildings to have the equipment necessary to allow the easy installation of solar panels, battery storage, and EV charging.

New solar power in the U.S. isn’t just coming from places like Texas and California. In 2023, Ohio will add 1,917 MW of new nameplate solar capacity, with Nevada and Colorado not far behind.

Top 10 States	Battery (MW)	Solar (MW)	Wind (MW)	Total (MW)
Texas	1,981	6,462	1,941	10,385
California	4,555	4,293	123	8,970
Nevada	678	1,596	0	2,274
Ohio	12	1,917	5	1,934
Colorado	230	1,187	200	1,617
New York	58	509	559	1,125
Wisconsin	4	939	92	1,034
Florida	3	978	0	980
Kansas	0	0	843	843
Illinois	0	363	477	840

The state of New York is also looking to become one of the nation’s leading renewable energy providers. The New York State Energy Research & Development Authority (NYSERDA) is making real strides towards this objective with 11% of the nation’s new wind power projects expected to come online in 2023.

According to the data, New Hampshire is the only state in the U.S. that has no new utility-scale renewable energy installations planned for 2023. However, the state does have plans for a massive hydroelectric plant that should come online in 2024.

Decarbonizing Energy

Renewable energy is considered essential to reduce global warming and CO2 emissions.

In line with the efforts by each state to build new renewable installations, the Biden administration has set a goal of achieving a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035 and a net zero emissions economy by no later than 2050.

The EIA forecasts the share of U.S. electricity generation from renewable sources rising from 22% in 2022 to 23% in 2023 and to 26% in 2024.