US renewable electricity output

As America generated more clean energy between 2005 and 2021, its citizens responded by choking on food at a statistically correlated rate. One might conclude that wind turbines emit some kind of distraction field, causing people to forget the fundamental mechanics of swallowing. The correlation of 0.97 is frankly suspiciously high for something this absurd. Solar panels, it seems, have yet to address their most devastating side effect.

Both trends are driven by the same underlying demographic and economic forces of the 2000s-2020s. An aging US population increases both renewable energy demand (through policy pressure from older, wealthier voters) and choking fatalities (older adults choke at significantly higher rates). Meanwhile, rising GDP per capita funds renewable infrastructure investment while simultaneously enabling Americans to eat richer, more elaborate meals. The 17-year window from 2005 to 2021 captures a period of dramatic renewable expansion, from roughly 4% to over 20% of the electricity mix.

Data has a remarkable talent for finding two things that were both going up and declaring them accomplices. The universe contains approximately 10^80 atoms and an even larger number of spurious correlations waiting to be discovered.