Here are some interesting ones I thought I'd share from May:
Percentage change in the past year in the number of U.S. cars and trucks repossessed: +12
Percentage change in the number of leisure boats repossessed: +72
Percentage of all U.S. men over twenty who are now unemployed or not seeking work: 31
Estimated percentage of Bush Administration political appointees who are currently unemployed: 70
Gallons of coal ash released into a Tennessee River last December by a power plant: 1,100,000,000
Factor by which this exceeds the volume of oil spilled by the Exxon Valdez: 101
Reactions? Thoughts?
2 comments:
Factor by which this exceeds the volume of oil spilled by the Exxon Valdez: 101This reminds me of the problems my dad had, oh about a decade ago, when he was the head engineer on a project trying to build a medical waste incinerator in the City.
People were up in arms with the idea of having medical waste being burned with the smoke just being released in the air. "right next to children playing and everything"
My dad tried to point out the the residue was heavily treated but no one cared.
An eighteen-wheeler releasing one of those black clouds from their exhaust going up the hill released more pollutants in one puff then the proposed incinerator did in a year.
Symbolism rules. Yes, the Valdez accident was horrible and some pretty animals died. But it was cleaned up (mostly) and there are a lot worse things going on out there for the environment.
p.s.
Estimated percentage of Bush Administration political appointees who are currently unemployed: 70That doesn't surprise me. I would bet the number was similar after Clinton left office. The political appointees tend to be a bit higher up the food chain so retirements are more likely. After an eight year administration, and the whole government being the opposite party and the economy being in the crapper I imagine it can be a bit slow for those folks to get a new gig.
I was surprised by the appointee figure. But I can see the retirement factor.
Since I live in Linclon Land, here's another figure that popped out to me: "Average number of books about Abraham Lincoln released every week since 2007: 1."
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