A Plastic World
A new study has calculated that there are 5.25 trillion small and large pieces of plastic, weighing a total of 269,000 tons, floating in the world’s oceans
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Homicide rates, by country
Rate per 100,000 people in 2012 Honduras – 90.4 Venezuela – 53.7 Colombia – 30.8 Brazil – 25.2 Mexico – 21.5 U.S. – 4.7
Read moreWeight Gain In America
The average American woman now weighs 166.2 pounds, about the same as the average American man weighed in the early 1960’s. Over the same time period, U.S. men have gained nearly 30 pounds, from 166.3 in the ’60’s to 195.5 today.
Read moreSmoking ban in Russia
Russia, the world’s second biggest cigarette consumer after China, has banned smoking in most public places as well as all tobacco advertising. Even popular Soviet-era cartoons featuring pipe smokers are to be censored. It’s unclear, though, how the ban will be enforced. Moscow police chief Anatoly Yakunin said his force has no plan to arrest violators. “We hope that they will […]
Read moreRising Demand for Meat
Appetite for meat is growing as the developing world becomes more prosperous. But meat—especially beef-can be polarizing, on health, environmental, and ethical grounds. Chicken outpaced beef in the U.S. in 2010. Total U.S. meat consumption peaked in the mid-2000’s and has declined ever since. Argentina’s famous appetite for beef has fallen because of cholesterol consciousness and economic downturns. In countries […]
Read moreSANITATION
Human waste from the roughly 700 climbers who scale Mount Everest every year poses a serious health issue on the slopes, the head of Nepal’s mountaineering association warned on March 3. He urged the government to push climbers to dispose of their waste responsibly.
Read moreDrones In Flight
2,000,000+ – Number of hours U.S. drones have spent in flight
Read moreHOW HAPPY ARE YOU?
Gallup ranked 143 countries by how great a share of respondents said they had recently had positive experiences such as laughter or enjoyment. A sampling, from greatest to least: 1 – Paraguay 8 – Costa Rica 15 – U.S. 134 – Afghanistan 143 – Sudan
Read moreLake Mead Level Lower Than Ever
Lake Mead, the main reservoir on the Colorado River, is now just 38 percent full — lower than at any time since it was filled in the 1930’s. If the lake sinks lower still during summer months, officials may cut water allotments to Arizona farmers by 50 percent.
Read moreDriving Days
The riskiest hour of the week for fatal traffic accidents is 2 a.m. to 3 a.m. on Saturday. The safest day for driving: Tuesday.
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