Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources Stats

1. Positive (Inspiring, Insightful, Clarifying, or Cool)

"In 2006, twenty-nine companies reported shipping 79,903 complete solar thermal collector systems, a 56 percent shipment increase compared with 2005." The various tables and charts found on this page show a growing trend in domestic and foreign solar collector purchases. We seem to be approaching a time where a push for cheaper, more efficient production of these collectors is in desire, and in the next ten years we could see the numbers on these charts rise expotentially. (Source: Energy Information Administration ) - Chris Schoerning

Organic Agriculture

"Organic agriculture is expanding rapidly in the United States, as consumer interest continues to gather momentum and new organic production and marketing systems evolve. In the wake of USDA's implementation of national organic standards in October 2002, continued growth in the industry is expected. Similarly, consumer demand rose throughout the 1990s-20 percent or more annually-and that pace has continued. Organic products are now available in nearly 20,000 natural food stores and 73 percent of conventional grocery stores, and account for approximately 1-2 percent of total food sales in the U.S."
—Catherine Greene and Carolyn Dimitri, in Amber Waves, February 2003, USDA's Economic Research Service, www.ers.usda.gov/amberwaves/feb03/findings/organicagriculture.html
(Taken from: http://www.ota.com/organic/mt/business.html)
[Nick Shaw]

2. Mixed/Uncertain (Complex, Multifaceted, Positives and Negatives, Meaning Unclear)

Length of all waterways used for transportation of goods or services in given countries.

#1	China:	123,964 km
#2	Russia:	102,000 km
#3	Brazil:	50,000 km
#4	United States:	41,009 km

(http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/tra_wat-transportation-waterways) -Alan Cacciamani

By the end of the century, Japan’s population is forecast to be half its current size, with fully one third being retired. Europe will shrink from today’s population by 63 million citizens over the same time period. At the same time, the most underdeveloped parts of the world aredoing just the opposite: growing unsustainably. In 1950, Africa’s population was 1/3 the size of Europe. By 2050, it is projected to be three times the size of Europe. (Source: a paraphrase of World in the Balance: The Population Paradox, NOVA, 2004) –John Smart

Click the link "map" onthis page. It shows several statistics on population density and growth/decline. However, this stuff has been covered in a movie in class so I found the smaller maps more interesting considering they show things like water scarcity predictions and which countries have little in the way of farmable land. (Source: Population Map of the Future, July 26 2006 http://curtrosengren.typepad.com/sustainable/statistics/index.html) - Cody Ziegler

The world electricity percentage generated by nuclear reactors was 1% in 1960, rising up to 16% in 1986 before essentially staying constant to stand at 15% for2006

British Columbia’s caribou population in Oct 2007 stood at about 1,900 animals in 12 herds, a decline from 2,500 in 1995 and historic levels of about10,000.

Over 1,000 new cars hit Beijing’s roads every day, adding to the existing vehicle fleet of 3.2 million as of Oct2007.

Future changes to the atmosphere are difficult to predict. There is currently growing concern that human activity may be altering the atmosphere to the point that it may affect the earth's climate. This is particularly the case with carbon dioxide. (http://science.jrank.org/pages/589/Atmosphere-Composition-Structure-past-future-atmosphere.html)
-Stephen G

The world's current growth rate is about 1.3%, representing a doubling time of 54 years. We can expect the world's population of approximately 6 billion to become 12 billion by 2054 if the current rate of growth continues. The world's growth rate peaked in the 1960s at 2% and a doubling time of 35 years.-JAMES BREYLEY


That American women use handguns 416 times a day in defense against rapists, which is a dozen times more often than rapists use a gun-James Breyley

"Only 13 percent of congressional Republicans say they believe that human activity is causing global warming, compared to 95 percent of congressional Democrats. Moreover, the number of Republicans who believe in human-induced global warming has actually dropped since April 2006, when the number was 23 percent." I'm still on the fence for deciding if global warming is entirely man-made or if it's part of a natural cycle that we are just too young to see. (Source: ThinkProgress.org) - Chris Schoerning

“Belching, farting farm animals account for about 16 percent of worldwide emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas that’s about 20 times as harmful as carbon dioxide…when the researcher’s ran garlic-spiked feed through an artificial cow stomach, its daily gas emissions dropped by as much as 50 percent.” Popular Science Oct 2007 p37 [Eric Kaplan]
82.5 million


Estimated number of mothers of all ages in the United States. (From unpublished Survey of Income and Program Participation data.) 68%
Percentage of women in Mississippi, ages 15 to 44 who are mothers. This is among the highest rates among states. The national average is 56 percent.
82%
Percentage of women ages 40 to 44 who are mothers. In 1976, 90 percent of women in that age group were mothers.http://www.census.gov/Press-(Release/www/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/004109.html)Just some interesting statistics on mothers age group in the USA. -Eric Fisher

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/ene_usa_per_per-energy-usage-per-person
Energy usage per person is surprisingly uneven, even considering countries of similar developmental levels. A good example is comparing the UK to the USA; the average UK person uses less than half that of the average US person. -Bill Nega



3. Negative (Disturbing, Angering, Scary, or Uncool)

Oil usage by country, but notice the vast difference between #1 and #2. Now realise that China is increasing in population and its use is increasing a lot. Soon they will overtake us in this number.

#1	United States:	20,730,000 bbl/day
#2	China:	6,534,000 bbl/day

(http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/ene_oil_con-energy-oil-consumption) - Alan Cacciamani

A kiwi fruit flown from New Zealand to Britian emits five times its own weight in greenhouse gases. ( Williams, J. (2004). R. Bernardo, Ed.50 Facts That Should Change The World. New York, NY) - Steven Janca

More than 2.6 billion people-over 40 per cent of the world's population-do not have basic sanitation, and more than one billion people still use unsafe sources of drinking water. Link -Brad Stein

"More than two thirds of the US population, about half the EU population and one fifth of the world's population live where they no longer have the possibility of seeing the Milky Way with the naked eye. For 40% of the US population, one sixth of the EU population and one tenth of the world's population, it is never dark enough at night for human eyes to become adapted to night vision." I wonder when it will be normal for one to go outside at midnight and expect to see a pinkish night sky? (Source: Association for Astronomy Education, 1997. http://www.aae.org.uk/Life_in_the_Universe/light_pollution.htm) - Cody Ziegler

Nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names. Link -Brad Stein

Within that 25 per cent, the clearing of Indonesia's peat swamps is estimated to cause two billion tonnes of carbon emissions a year - about 8 per cent of total global emissions alone, according to Wetlands International.Link -Brad Stein

78-Number of days by which the US fire season has increased over the past 20 years - tied closely to increased temperatures and earlier snowmelt.
(Source: http://www.environmentaldefense.org/article.cfm?ContentID=5816)
-EduardoAguirre

10-15 years is all that we have left to reduce carbon emissions in order to prevent further climate change, according to the world's top scientists. (Source: Go Green, AOL Go Green, 2007)
-Bernard Clary

80 % decrease in U.S. global warming pollution required by 2050 to prevent the worst consequences of global warming. http://www.environmentaldefense.org/article.cfm?ContentID=5816
Brooke Beresford

Of the 30 countries with nuclear power, the percentage of electricity supplied by nuclear ranged widely: 78% in France, 54% in Belgium, 39% in Republic of Korea, 37% in Switzerland, 30% in Japan, 19% in the USA, 16% in Russia, 4% in South Africa, and 2% inChina.

Every year six million children die from malnutrition before their fifth birthday-JAMES BREYLEY

Real world oil price
2006 1980 (peak)	$50.85 $62.67

As much as people claim the price of oil is skyrocketing, its not as high as it has been in the past. Does this mean the rumors of oil being not a reliable resource are wrong?
(http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/infocardnew.html) -Alan Cacciamani

Surveys by the federal agency show that there has been a sharp increase in obesity in the United States over the last 20 years. In 1985, not a single state had more than 20 percent of its residents considered obese. Now more than 40 states do.
-JAMES BREYLEY

"If all those bulbs were to be put into landfill and mismanaged and that mercury released into the environment it would be detrimental,"
-Angela Deckers (Head of Hazardous Materials Program for the City of Boise) on those Twisty Energy Efficient Light Bulbs

"10 percent of vehicles produced 50 percent of the hydrocarbons -- essentially unburned gasoline that contribute to ground-level ozone pollution, or smog. Nationally, the problem is major, says Gary Bishop, a University of Denver researcher. "What you find, almost anywhere in the United States, is that 6 to 8 percent of the cars are responsible for 50 percent of the carbon monoxide pollution, and 15 to 20 percent of the cars cause 50 percent of the hydrocarbon pollution."" I'll be waiting in line for my Tesla Roadster in three years. Electric cars still have the benefit of polluting from a concentrated and controlled source that can benefit from many types of controls such as scrubbers -- scrubbers that people would be obnoxiously opposed to having on their standard fossil fueled powered vehicle.(Source: WhyFiles.org ) - Chris Schoerning

"The Global Carbon Project says that emissions were rising by less than 1% annually up to the year 2000, but are now rising at 2.5% per year." -[BBC News] - Aaron J. Otrin

"Nearly a third of all bottled drinking water purchased in the US is contaminated with bacteria."
Tuttle, Cameron. (1997) The Paranoid’s Pocket Guide. San Francisco California: Chronicle Books.
- Brant Hestrup

Air-travel is expected to contribute 17% of UK greenhouse gases this year; if current trends are to continue that figure could be 50% by 2050.
(http://hollow.newsvine.com/_news/2007/08/13/893763-climate-camp-2007-gears-up-to-take-on-air-travel-in-uk)
-John Cross (wetpaint name is tarstarkas)

"Between 1999 and 2003 2.5 million cell phones were collected to be recycled accounting for less than 1% of the phones discarded each year. " In the near future it is likely many if not all cellphone companies will give customers very substantial discounts for returning old cell phones.
(taken from http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/education/pdfs/life-cell.pdf)
-John Cross (wetpaint name tarstarkas)

The devastating effect that changes in natural conditions can have was brought home again last week with the release of new data on the loss to fisheries resources resulting from the recent Sumatra earthquake and its associated tsunami. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), there were losses of US$520 million suffered by the fishing sector of the seven worst-affected countries, with over 111,000 vessels destroyed or damaged, 36,000 engines lost and 1.7 million units of fishing gear ruined. Although we go on and on about the great damage people can cause the environment can cause damage just as severe. (http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:8yjNbzXdlyEJ:www.twnside.org.sg/title2/climate/climate.change.doc
+terrifying+global+trends&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us)
-John Cross (wetpaint name tarstarkas)

The availability of fresh water will decline, according to the UN, who project that by 2025 1.8bn people will be affected by water scarcity ... - Tom Andrys)


By the end of 2007 it is estimated that more people will live in cities than rural areas for the first time in history. The satellite image of the US city of Las Vegas (left) shows how rapidly metropolitan areas can grow. The city was home to 557,000 people in 1985, by 2004 this had risen to nearly 1.7 million. - Tom Andrys


Oil Exports



Figure 23 - Total Oil exports from the assessed countries, including the projections for the 2006 - 2020 period.

The graph in Figure 23 depicts a very clear scenario: total exports from the assessed countries declines from hereafter, never recovering again. The decline rate grows with time, as seen Figure 24:



Figure 24 - Total Oil exports and evolution rates for the assessed countries, including the projections for the 2006 - 2020 period.

The declines rates resulting from the projections made are never higher than those observed during the early 1980s, still in 15 years total oil exports decline almost 40% from 36.2 Mb/d to 22.6 Mb/d. This period ahead might not have much in common with the crisis lived in the 1970s and 1980s, but if economic recession takes over in importing countries, periods of heavy decline might happen, followed by periods of recovery. It's worth looking closely to this period in figure 25.



Figure 25 - Decline rates in total oil exports for the assessed countries during the projected period, 2006 to 2020.

Four different periods can be identified:
. 2006 - 2010 : slow decline below 2%/year;
. 2011 - 2013 : first acceleration to a decline rate close to 4%/year;
. 2014 - 2016 : steady decline at 4%/year;
. 2017 - 2020 : new acceleration up 5%/year.
The first acceleration is probably the most critical period and follows the peak in world oil production. The final years of the 2010s decade will present great challenges for oil importing nations.
Finally is worth mentioning that these four periods seem to fit on Samsam Bakhtiari's Four Transitions of which the first started last year.

(Source: World Oil Exports and Projections)
[Kristopher Velez]

Energy Supply and Demand - The demand for energy of all forms is likely to increase significantly, according to the Energy Information Administration. By 2030, even with expected dramatic gains in efficiency, total energy consumption is forecasted to increase by 31 percent, petroleum by 30 percent, natural gas by nearly 19 percent, coal by 49 percent, and electricity by 43 percent.
http://www.yourenergyfuture.org/energyFacts.htm

levar .h

World energy production by source in 2004: Oil 40%, coal 23.3%, natural gas 22.5%, hydroelectric 7.0%, nuclear 6.5%, biomass and other 0.7%.[4] In the U.S., transportation accounted for 28% of all energy use and 70% of petroleum use in 2001; 97% of transportation fuel was petroleum (http://www.spe.org/spe-app/spe/index.jsp) -MustanshioMcHatman


Estimations based off the current trend of CO2 emmissions and Global Warming are going to cause
major strains on most of the world and it's ecosystem. Some places that are higher altitude
might benefit from higher farm yields but over all many regions will become subject to heat
stress and rising sea levels. [Link] -Christopher Sell

Economics, Capitalism, Finance, Globalization, and Innov. Infrastructure Stats

1. Positive (Inspiring, Insightful, Clarifying, or Cool)

“From the 1980’s to the present, 300 million Chinese have been lifted out of poverty by global market and free trade reforms” (Source: Commanding Heights: Episode 3, Daniel Yergin, 2003) –John Smart

Africa and the Middle East have experienced around a 900% increase in internet usage in the past 7 years beating out China's 300% increase in the same time frame.The world overall has experienced a 245% increase in internet usage in the past 7 years.( Source:Internet World Stats, 2007, http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm) - Cody Ziegler

Think our taxes our high? Why is Luxembourg considered the richest country in the world? "Like other successful European economies, Luxembourg's federal tax rate is high, at 41.7 percent, behind Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Belgium, France, Austria, Italy and Norway. This figure for the United States is 26 percent." (Source: Fsmitha.org ) - Chris Schoerning

“...the households that owed nothing on credit cards equaled 55% of the total...of the households that did carry a balance, the median amount owed was $1,900.” Americans don't carry as much debt as one might think. (Source: http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Banking/creditcardsmarts/P74808.asp, Liz Pulliam Weston, ND) – R.J. Jundt

Unemployment rates in the U.S. have been in decline since mid-2003 [Source] - Aaron Otrin

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/eco_wor_tra_imp_opt_fib-world-trade-imports-optical-fibres
The amount of optical fiber a country is importing can be a good indicator of how quickly you can expect powerful computing networks to grow there in the next 5-10 years. -Bill Nega

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/eco_tec_ind-economy-technology-index
By identifying different factors affecting a country's overall technology rating (includes things such as creativity and productivity of scientists, spending on R&D, internet and PC penetration), the weak spots can be targeted and bolstered. -Bill Nega

2. Mixed/Uncertain (Complex, Multifaceted, Positives and Negatives, Meaning Unclear)

The golfer Tiger Woods is the world's highest paid sportsman. He earns $78 million a year or $148 every second. (Williams, J. (2004). R. Bernardo, Ed.50 Facts That Should Change The World. New York, NY) - Steven Janca

Generation Y will migrate heavily overseas. For the first time, the United States will see a significant proportion of its population emigrate due to overseas opportunities. According to futurists Arnold Brown and Edie Weiner, Generation Y, the population segment born between 1978 and 1995, may be the first generation in U.S. history to have many of its members leave the U.S. to pursue large portions of their lives, if not their entire adult lives, overseas. (source:http://www.wfs.org/tomorrow/index.htm) (Miguel Almendariz)

Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than the US Treasury. http://thebiglad.com/Crazy-Facts
-Brandon Jacobs
In the varied world of today's media, the consumer is increasingly in control. A 2005 study by Yankelovich showed that almost 70% of consumers were actively looking for ways to block, opt-out, or eliminate advertising. http://searchenginewatch.com/showPage.html?page=3601546 --Camren Hughes


nGold prices can be used as a gauge for how group wisdom responds to certain events. - Tom Andrys
3. Negative (Disturbing, Angering, Scary, or Uncool)

Dwindling supplies of water in China will impact the global economy. With uneven development across China, the most water-intensive industries and densest population are in regions where water is scarcest. The result is higher prices for commodities and goods exported from China, so the costs of resource and environmental mismanagement are transferred to the rest of the world. (source:http://www.wfs.org/tomorrow/index.htm) (Miguel Almendariz)


Estimations based off the current trend of CO2 emmissions and Global Warming are going to cause
major strains on most of the world and it's ecosystem. Some places that are higher altitude
might benefit from higher farm yields but over all many regions will become subject to heat
stress and rising sea levels. [Link] -Christopher Sell

For economic growth and almost all of the other indicators, the last 20 years [of the current form of globalization, from 1980 - 2000] have shown a very clear decline in progress as compared with the previous two decades [1960 - 1980]. For each indicator, countries were divided into five roughly equal groups, according to what level the countries had achieved by the start of the period (1960 or 1980). Among the findings:

• Growth: The fall in economic growth rates was most pronounced and across the board for all groups or countries.
• Life Expectancy: Progress in life expectancy was also reduced for 4 out of the 5 groups of countries, with the exception of the highest group (life expectancy 69-76 years).
• Infant and Child Mortality: Progress in reducing infant mortality was also considerably slower during the period of globalization (1980-1998) than over the previous two decades.
• Education and literacy: Progress in education also slowed during the period of globalization.

Globally there are more than 1 billion overweight adults, with at least 300 million of them being obese.Link -Brad Stein

"Only 37% of American workers say they have calculated how much money they will need to have saved by the time they retire. Making matters worse, many who say they have crunched the numbers used less-than-reliable methods or obtained dubious results. (2003 Retirement Confidence Survey)" (Source: 10 Shocking Stats, Selena Maranjian, 2003)
-Bernard Clary

"The British pound sterling has improved 12% against the dollar over the same period, the euro by 10%, and the Swiss franc 7%." -[Declining Dollar] - Aaron Otrin


Many Americans at or near retirement age would require more than $1 million to pre-fund medical costs over their remaining years. For those with employment-based insurance, the maximum figure exceeds $500,000. (Employee Benefit Research Institute) (Source: 10 Shocking Stats)
[Kristopher Velez]

Financial planning

"While 63% know the difference between a halfback and a quarterback, only 12% know the difference between a load and no-load mutual fund. .[I]n one recent survey, most mutual fund investors thought that the stock market -- over the next decade -- would gain an annual average of more than 20 percent.. Most troubling of all, 65 million American households will probably fail to realize one or more of their major life goals because they have not developed a basic financial plan." (Former SEC chief Arthur Levitt, in a 1999 speech) (Taken from http://www.fool.com/personal-finance/general/2003/10/16/10-shocking-stats.aspx)
[Nick Shaw]


According to the US Census Bureau, there are 36,5 million people in the US alone, living in poverty (12,3% of the total population, considering a household with two people earning under $13,167/year) and more 47 million with no health insurance at all (2006 data) (source: http://www.census.gov/) -MustanshioMcHatman


Politics, Security, Democracy, Rights, Health Care, and Sustainability Infrastructure Stats

1. Positive (Inspiring, Insightful, Clarifying, or Cool)

Major drops in violent crime and property damage
Since the mid 1990s violent crime has been on a massive downward trend and property crime is falling even faster. Is this a trend to a less crime filled world?
Relevant statistics are here http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/house2.htm
[Roivas]


Only 82 countries, representing 57% of the world's population, are fully democratic.
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0904677.html
(levar H.)

This is a short summary of a recent survey [FR03] focusing on the observed evidence, that Internet connectivity is positively correlated with spread of democracy at high levels of significance. The results of multivariate correlation analysis and probabilities regression estimate models are based on the combined analysis of mid - 1991’s, to 2001 data series of the Eurostat’s and US Census Bureau, the World Bank, and OECD’s statistical data service which track the growth of information technology and rating of freedom and democracy worldwide. (http://ideas.repec.org/p/wpa/wuwpdc/0510001.html)
sorry, for the exact stats, etc go to page. -Stephen G



2. Mixed/Uncertain (Complex, Multifaceted, Positives and Negatives, Meaning Unclear)

US Population statistics
One birth every.................................. 7 seconds
One death every.................................. 13 seconds
One international migrant (net) every............ 27 seconds
Net gain of one person every..................... 11 seconds
http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html - tells current population [Eric Kaplan]


The review of the popular vote in 2000 by income to determine which how people of different
classes leaned toward a left or right mind set. This raises questions since Bush offered tax
cuts for the upper class. [Link] -Christopher Sell

3. Negative (Disturbing, Angering, Scary, or Uncool)



Total number of nuclear missiles built, 1951 - present: 67,500.

Fastest growing crime in the world Identity Theft
With over 9 million victims each year and a predictive model for it to become exponentially troublesome identity theft is one of the most prolific and popular crimes today. With 30 hours of work averaging to sort out the trouble, and costing the victim personally about $500 per victim, and the businesses nearly $5,000 per victim its one of the most costly crimes in the world right now.
Relevant statistics are here
http://www.whitecanyon.com/identity-theft-statistics-ut-09-2003.php
and here
http://www.creditreport.com/identitytheft/info/statistics.asp
[Roivas]

Since the 1960's, Americans are 10-15% less likely to voice their opinion, 15-20% less interested in politics, 25% less likely to vote, 35% less likely to attend public meetings, and 40% less engaged in political organizations. (Source: Bowling Alone, Robert D. Putnam, 2000) -Chris Shaw
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Take a glimpse at the upcoming list of industry events, and the impact of mobile games is readily apparent. The appeal of mobile game development is fairly obvious. The team size is typically a fraction of the size of a typical game development team, the development cycle is a few months versus a few years, and the budget is generally lesser. Moreover, phones are portable, networked, and more than one billion mobile phones are in use today. Whether mobile games will prove to be everything they’ve been hyped to be remains to be seen, but, for now, mobile games are hot and, consequently, so are those people with the skills to make them.

The journey of mobile games has just begun. The present generation of wireless networks need further up gradation. This would enable faster transfer of data and enable people to play mobile games in real time.
(Source: http://library.thinkquest.org/06aug/01303/english/future.html)
-Jeffrey Geer

http://www.worldometers.info/ - site of constantly updated world statistics [Eric Kaplan]

Only 0.7% (just over 1 million people) of the U.S. Labor Force (151.4 million people, 2006) is made up of farming, forestry, and fishing1. While World of Warcraft, an extremely popular persistent online game, has well over 2 million current U.S. subscribers2. Keep that in mind next time a politician says farmers are the “real Americans”. (Original idea taken from: http://kfmonkey.blogspot.com/2006/03/farm-fetish.html )

[1] https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html#Econ
[2] http://www.blizzard.com/press/070111.shtml
-Trenton Kennedy China's population will hit 1.36 billion by 2010 (Source: The Scientists Mind, http://tzpss.blogspot.com/2007/01/chinas-population-will-hit-136-billion.html, Friday, January 12, 2007) Noah Watkins China's population aged over 60 will jump from the current 143 million to 430 million by 2040. (Source: The Scientists Mind, http://tzpss.blogspot.com/2007/01/chinas-population-will-hit-136-billion.html, Friday, January 12, 2007) Noah Watkins While, its working population (people between the ages of 15 and 64) will jump from 860 million in 2000 to 1.01 billion in 2016. (Source: The Scientists Mind, http://tzpss.blogspot.com/2007/01/chinas-population-will-hit-136-billion.html, Friday, January 12, 2007) Noah Watkins China's population will increase by 200 million in the next thirty years. (Source: The Scientists Mind, http://tzpss.blogspot.com/2007/01/chinas-population-will-hit-136-billion.html, Friday, January 12, 2007) Noah Watkins 30 mln Chinese men may be singles by 2020 over rising gender imbalance daily (Source: The Scientists Mind, http://tzpss.blogspot.com/2007/01/chinas-population-will-hit-136-billion.html, Friday, January 12, 2007) Noah Watkins


3. Negative (Disturbing, Angering, Scary, or Uncool)

"Media corporations don't cover political news anymore. Political news coverage in 2000 was half what it was in 1996, and 1996 was half what it was in 1992. In 1981 the media received $80 million in political ads. By 2000 this had grown to $1 billion. The third leading source of revenue for media today is political ads. So if you are a politician today, the only way your issues, views, and polices get heard is through paid political ads. This is why only multimillionaires, those complicit in the system, those who won't rock the boat, those who can spend tens and hundreds of millions of dollars on political ads can go into politics today. The media's position is that providing free airtime for politicians [as they used to have to do] is an infringement of their "corporate free speech" rights, and they recently (2002?) spent $10 million on congressional lobbying to keep it that way." Charles Lewis, Center for Public Integrity (paraphrased). Source: Orwell Rolls in His Grave (DVD).

Children's "nature deficit disorder" will grow as a health threat. Children today are spending less time in direct contact with nature than did previous generations. The impacts are showing up not only in their lack of physical fitness, but also in the growing prevalence of hyperactivity and attention deficit. Studies show that immersing children in outdoor settings--away from television and video games--fosters more creative mental activity and concentration. (source:http://www.wfs.org/tomorrow/index.htm) (Miguel Almendariz)

“One in six people in high-stress Singapore suffer from some form of mental illness, with the rate expected to rise...” (Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1121900, Data and News Analysis, 2007) – R.J. Jundt

In 1970, the average age of a girl who started dieting was 14; by 1990 the average dieting age fell to 8. (Source: http://www.colorado.edu/studentgroups/wellness/NewSite/BdyImgShockingStats.html) -Chris Shaw


According to the Federal Communications Commission, as of September 2000, there were a total of 1,663 television licenses (and 12,717 radio licenses). The major networks all have their own television station groups which own TV stations in major markets. For instance, A.B.C. owns 10 TV stations covering 24% of the nation. This is only owned stations and does not include the affiliated A.B.C. television stations. News Corporation operates 35 television stations, 25 of which transmit the Fox Television Network. News Corporation also owns the satellite TV provider DirectTV. CBS owns 39 television stations of which 21 are affiliated with the CBS Television Network. CBS television network has over 200 affiliates. General Electric, through NBC Universal, operates 10 TV stations and the network has more than 220 affiliates.

I 3/4 of Americans will be overweight by 2015, it is currently 1 in 4 that is overweight now. (http://www.alliedquotes.com/Insider/2007/07/obesity-statistics-reflect-potential.html)-Brooke Beresford
n 1970 the average age of a girl who started dieting was 14; by 1990 the average dieting age fell to 8.
Since 1996, the United Kingdom has increased its CO2 emissions by about 4.6 million tonnes per year.-bradreamer

High School Drop-Out Rates.
"Nearly one in three public high school students in the United States won't graduate."
(Source:http://www.trumpuniversity.com/blog/index.cfm?blogpost_id=779)- Austin Walker

"About 65% of new marriages will end in either divorce or separation."
Tuttle, Cameron. (1997) The Paranoid’s Pocket Guide. San Francisco California: Chronicle Books.
-- Brant Hestrup

"Half of this year’s college seniors will still be jobless a year after they graduate."
Tuttle, Cameron. (1997) The Paranoid’s Pocket Guide. San Francisco California: Chronicle Books.
-- Brant Hestrup


Facts and Statistics of Autism, a growing concern:

• 1 in 150 births(1)
• 1 to 1.5 million Americans(2)
• Fastest-growing developmental disability
• 10 - 17 % annual growth
• Growth comparison during the 1990s(3):
  • U.S. population increase: 13%
  • Disabilities increase: 16%
  • Autism increase: 172%
• $90 billion annual cost(4)
• 90% of costs are in adult services(4)
• Cost of lifelong care can be reduced by 2/3 with early diagnosis and intervention(4)
• In 10 years, the annual cost will be $200-400 billion(5)

Sources: http://www.autism-society.org/site/PageServer?pagename=FactsStats
-Trenton Kennedy

Relative Cause of Death in U.S. and our main fears:
In 2004 alone, 652,486 Americans died of heart disease; 38,444 died from fatal car crashes. Fewer than 60 Americans have died from terrorist attacks (all of which were overseas) since 9/11.

Sources:
http://www.disastercenter.com/cdc/
http://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/Main/index.aspx
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5889435/
-Trenton Kennedy

Hope you don't plan on becoming an author any time soon: According to the Jenkins Group, (http://www.jenkinsgroupinc.com/)1/3 of high school graduates never read another book for the rest of their lives, andthe same applies to42% of college graduates. A startling80% of U.S. families did not buy or read a book last year! And as a result,70% of the total books published do not make a profit.

--Rich Armijo

According to UNESCO, (http://www.sil.org/literacy/LitFacts.htm) today in the world there are about 1 billion illiterate adults. That's nearly 26% of the population, and 52% of those live in China or India! Only 2% of illiterates live in developed nations.--Rich Armijo

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/edu_dur_of_com_edu-education-duration-of-compulsory
The length of compulsory education, in years, varies greatly between First World and Third World countries. Some, such as Angola, only require 4 years of mandatory education, while many developed countries require 12-13. This gap needs to be closed, so that the developing countries can support themselves in their own growth instead of relying on foreigners. -Bill Nega

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/edu_sch_con_to_the_int-education-schools-connected-internet
Most developed countries have all of their schools connected to the internet, but a depressingly small amount of African and Latin American countries have a good percentage of schools connected to the internet. This could soon be changing with the One Laptop Per Child initiative. -Bill Nega

Society (Med): Org: Mgmt, Org. Innov. & Entrep., Org. Sustain. & Social Resp., Org Dev Stats

1. Positive (Inspiring, Insightful, Clarifying, or Cool)


2. Mixed/Uncertain (Complex, Multifaceted, Positives and Negatives, Meaning Unclear)

BizStats Industry Sector Employment Trends
Employment	2007 Projected	2004 Actual	1994 Actual	Change 94-04	% Change 94-04
Agriculture-forestry-fishing-hunting	1,915	2,140	2,890	-750	-0.26
Mining	507	523	577	-54	-0.09
Utilities	534	570	689	-119	-0.17
Construction	7,526	6,965	5,095	1,870	0.37
Manufacturing	13,523	14,330	17,020	-2,690	-0.16
Wholesale trade	5,777	5,655	5,248	407	0.08
Retail trade	15,498	15,035	13,491	1,544	0.11
Transportation-Warehousing	4,415	4,250	3,701	549	0.15
Information	3,258	3,138	2,739	399	0.15
Financial-Insurance Activities	6,920	6,635	5,684	951	0.17
Real estate	1,487	1,417	1,183	234	0.20
Professional-Scientific-Technical services	7,337	6,762	4,844	1,918	0.40
Management of Companies	1,734	1,718	1,666	52	0.03
Administrative-Waste management-Remediation	8,615	7,934	5,664	2,270	0.40
Education services	3,027	2,766	1,895	871	0.46
Health care-Social assistance	15,170	14,187	10,912	3,275	0.30
Arts-Entertainment-Recreation	1,970	1,833	1,376	457	0.33
Accommodation-Food services	11,223	10,646	8,724	1,922	0.22
Other services	6,512	6,210	5,202	1,008	0.19
Total Non-government Employment	116,948	112,714	98,600	14,114	0.14
Federal government	2,641	2,728	3,018	-290	-0.10
State - local government	19,681	18,891	16,257	2,634	0.16
Total Government Employment	22,322	21,619	19,275	2,344	0.12
Total US Employment in Thousands (000)	139,270	134,333	117,875	16,458	0.14

(Source:http://www.bizstats.com/reports/industry-employment-trend.asp)
-EduardoAguirre

This artical goes in to detail on some of the changes that are projected to happen to our
workforce by 2014. It talks of current trends in age and labor force demographics. Some
demographics I found interesting. Like the transportation industry is pretty much at its optimal
effiecancy and not growing. Other fields like education and business services I can see growing
as estimated by this artical. As jobs become less labor intensive from automation, more and more
people will need to be educated enough to create or manage these new technologies. Interesting
piece if you're curious to what fields will be in high demand in the not so near future.
[Link] -Christopher Sell

3. Negative (Disturbing, Angering, Scary, or Uncool)

30 to 40% of Internet use in the workplace is not related to business. (IDC Research) (Source: Shocking Statistics, Keylogger-Software.com, 2004)
-Bernard Clary

77.7% of major U.S. companies keep tabs on employees by checking their e-mail, Internet, phone calls, computer files, or by videotaping them at work. (American Management Association) (Source: Shocking Statistics, Keylogger-Software.com, 2004)
-Bernard Clary

One million Americans, about 3,000 each day, take up smoking each year. Most of them are children. -Disgaeafreak


Society (Small): Personal: Family, Relationships, Careers and Lifestyle Stats

1. Positive (Inspiring, Insightful, Clarifying, or Cool)

During the first quarter of 2007, 50.4 percent of Internet users were women.
--http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D00E6DA123BF932A1575AC0A9669C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print--
the_Finn

Descriptive Classifications of Intelligence Quotients
IQ	Description	% of Population
130+	Very superior	2.2%
120-129	Superior	6.7%
110-119	High average	16.1%
90-109	Average	50%
80-89	Low average	16.1%
70-79	Borderline	6.7%
Below 70	Extremely low	2.2%

Retrieved from http://www.audiblox.com/iq_scores.htm - Covalt

Women in the Workplace
The gap between women and men's average earnings is closing as more women break through the glass ceiling. This is due in part to women entering college at a higher rate
than men, 69% to 62% respectively. One in four wives now earns more than her husband. (Source: http://www.yourcareerstyle.com/projected_job_statistics.asp)
[Nick Shaw]

Workers will increasingly choose more time over more money. The productivity boom in the U.S. economy during the twentieth century created a massive consumer culture--people made more money, so they bought more stuff. In the twenty-first century, however, workers will increasingly choose to trade higher salaries for more time with their families. Nearly a third of U.S. workers recently polled said they would prefer more time off rather than more hours of paid employment. (source:http://www.wfs.org/tomorrow/index.htm) (Miguel Almendariz)

Since 1994, violent crime rates have declined, reaching the lowest level ever in 2005.
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/viort.htm US Dept of Justice [Eric Kaplan]

Nielsen ratings show 16% increase in consoles in home in two years
Showing why the gaming industry has become a rival to the movie industry as billions are pumped towards making the next big console hit, consoles have increased home penetration even further in recent years with the Wii and more casual games being developed for mass audience appeal.
Relevant statistics are here
http://journal.pcvsconsole.com/?thread=21766
[Roivas]

Wii win 2007
Nintendo's ghost console the Wii has outpaced the Xbox360 selling over 13 million units within its first year on the market. The most recent sales months have seen the Xbox just barely surpass the white rectangle during the release month of Halo 3. The PS3 lags well behind the other two next gen systems bringing its sales total only to 4.5 million. Could the Wii be reaching a saturation point which will burst its bubble of epic sales, or has the gaming industry changed to accommodate for less graphic intensive interactive games?
Relevant statistics are posted here
http://wii.ign.com/articles/830/830225p1.html
[Roivas]

- “91% of Broadband Users Have Spyware Lurking on Home Computers

- 97% of Broadband Parents Do Not Use Parental Controls

- 67% of Users Do Not Have Properly and Securely Configured Firewalls

- 62% Do Not Regularly Update Anti-Virus Software

- Despite Vulnerabilities, 86% Keep Sensitive Information on Home Computer”
--http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=304308--
I put this under good news because it is job security for me (Network Security) the_Finn



2. Mixed/Uncertain (Complex, Multifaceted, Positives and Negatives, Meaning Unclear)