QTRS Oct 16, 2025
Graphs, commentary, and interesting content for the curious
As I see it…
I was reminded this week that most banks don’t offer car loans for cars older than 10 years. You might be able to get a car loan at your local used car lot, but generally a car older than 10 years will carry a higher interest rate. Similarly, your local bank might offer you a personal loan, but that will also be at a higher rate than a car loan. The age limit is largely an arbitrary cutoff. Why 10 and not 9 or 11? Probably because we like the number 10 better. Why all cars? Certainly there are some cars at age 11 that have more value than others at 9. This isn’t what really got me writing about this today.
As I see it, this is just another example of how the left, despite its social justice stand, does little for poor and working-class families. If you are reading this, it might not seem like a big deal. But the average age of a car in the U.S. has been increasing and is now at 14.5 years, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Note that they don’t have data for 2017 through 2021 for whatever reason.
Now car age certainly skews to the right, but it is safe to infer that the median is likely 10 years or more. This means that about half the cars on the road are difficult to get loans to buy. Spending $15K on a car that is 10 years or older is common, and working-class individuals will require a loan for this purchase, which will come with a higher interest rate. This may not seem like much, but a couple of extra percentage points matter, and more so to lower-income people. Now I understand that banks have to make money, but the hard cutoff isn’t necessary and is outdated. A sliding scale of interest rates based on car age would be fairer. Or maybe they set limits on how much one can borrow for an older car. In the end, the current policy is really punitive to the working class.
I might be nitpicking, but I believe there are many examples of situations like this that wealthier individuals are completely unaware of, which make life harder or more expensive for lower-income people and are largely unfair. I’ll take the left more seriously when they start putting effort into these types of issues. Meanwhile, I’d love to see more examples in the comments.
Let’s go to some data.
Inhalers cause climate change
Fear not because JAMA is on top of the damage caused by inhalers in Inhaler-Related Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the USA Serial Cross-Sectional Analysis (10/6/2025). Clearly this is a serious issue. Here’s the data:
Findings Inhalers approved for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease generated an estimated 24.9 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions in the US from 2014 to 2024, 98% of which were from metered-dose inhalers. The estimated social costs of emissions were $5.7 billion (lower bound, $3.5 billion; upper bound, $10.0 billion).
Let’s put some of this “scary” large number into perspective. This is 24.9 million metric tons over 11 years, or 2.26 mmt per year. Numbers are only large or small when put into context. The CIA World Factbook tells me that the U.S. emitted 4,795,000,000 metric tons of CO₂ in 2023. A year of inhalers in 2023 is 2,260,000/4,795,000,000 = 0.0005, or 0.05% of total emissions. I suppose every little bit counts, but it sure seems like this is virtue signaling more than anything. I’ll take the saved lives for the 0.05% of CO₂ emissions.
As to the cost. First, I’m suspicious of all these cost analyses, and the findings seem to ignore any benefits, like people being able to breathe. But let's put the $5.7 billion in perspective. First, we divide $5.7 billion by 11 to convert it into an annual figure, resulting in $0.52 billion, or $520 million per year. Roughly, according to FRED, the U.S. GDP is about $30,000,000,000,000. Let’s divide to arrive at 0.00002, or 0.002% of GDP.
I’m being somewhat unfair in using later years instead of an average over the 11 years for comparison, but it doesn’t change the overall idea. Inhalers aren’t a big climate problem, and this is virtue signaling, but it is a good example of how to inflate a “problem.” Calculate the total over a decade rather than using annual figures. Then make sure you don’t add context. A million metric tons seems like a large number, as does $5.2 billion, and most people will see them that way, but in the context of the U.S. they are small. In fact, the authors themselves might not have even realized this, so maybe it is less purposeful deception and more ignorance. Plus, who will publish an article saying inhalers contribute 0.05% of CO₂ emissions?
I created an animation to try and help put Million vs. billion vs. trillion (6/22/2024) in context. Take a look, as you might enjoy it.
eia graph of the week
If you are heating with electricity, it will likely cost you more this year.
Trends in retail energy prices account for most of the changes in heating expenditures in our Winter Fuels Outlook, released today. We expect weather this winter will be similar to or milder than last winter.
As demand for electricity goes up, thanks data centers and electric cars, prices will go up. I expect this will slow the move to electricity, as people will look to use fuels that are cheaper. The all-electric world is a long way off.
Meanwhile, people are moving to heating more with electricity, but slowly.
Signs of optimism
Congrats to Bari Weiss: Paramount Buys The Free Press, Ushering in a New Era at CBS News Bari Weiss, a founder of The Free Press, will become editor in chief of CBS News. (10/6/2025) In fact, kudos to Paramount for making this move. Maybe it will help this situation, as noted in the Gallup report from 10/2/2025.
If you think the decline is all about Republicans, note that another graph on the page shows Democrats declined from 76% in 2018 to 51% in 2025 in those that have a great deal or fair amount of trust in the media.
Data center updates
Just as a reminder, 1 GW of generation is “1.887 Million Photovoltaic (PV) panels or 294 utility-scale wind turbines.” This is only when they are operational; the sun is shining or the wind is blowing.
Aligned Data Centers sold to BlackRock and MGX in record-breaking $40bn deal. Set to close in the first half of 2026 (10/15/2025)
Google to invest $9bn in South Carolina data centers. Will be invested by 2027, company also commits $4bn to Arkansas (10/16/2025)
The spinning CD
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Please let me know if you think I expressed something incorrectly or misinterpreted the data. I would rather know the truth and understand the world than simply be correct. I welcome comments and disagreement. I encourage you to share article ideas, feedback, or any other thoughts at briefedbydata@substack.com.
Bio
I am a tenured mathematics professor at Ithaca College, holding a PhD in math (stochastic processes), an MS in applied statistics, an MS in math, a BS in math, and a BS in exercise science. I consider myself an accidental academic (opinions are my own). I am a gardener, drummer, rower, runner, inline skater, 46er, and R user. I’ve written the textbooks “R for College Mathematics and Statistics” and “Applied Calculus with R.” I welcome any collaborations, and I’m open to job offers (a full vita is available on my faculty page).