Eric DesRoberts continues his monthly series of facts and tidbits he’s uncovered during his research to better understand products and packaging. You can also check out his past Fun Facts here.
1. The average vehicle is immobile roughly 95% of the time. This requires about 600 million parking spots worldwide, which is an issue addressed in Eran Ben-Joseph’s book Rethinking a Lot.
2. Some 98% of conventional apples have detectable levels of pesticides. This is some of the latest information observed in the Environmental Working Group’s Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce.
3. Hydroelectricity accounted for roughly 16% of global electricity generation in 2011. Hydropower has been steadily increasing over the last four decades and produced 3.5 trillion kWh of electricity last year. The average US home uses about 11,500 kWh of electricity annually.
4. Americans consume an estimated 20 billion hot dogs a year. Independence Day accounts for about 150 million of these.
5. In 2010, fireworks caused an estimated 15,500 reported fires, eight reported civilian deaths, and roughly $36 million in direct property damage. There are additional concerns associated with potential exposure to the chemicals and toxins used to create these awe inspiring explosions. Happy 4th of July!
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Here is a link to more chemical information for fireworks: http://www.phmsa.dot.gov/staticfiles/PHMSA/DownloadableFiles/Hazmat/Regulations/Approved%20and%20Prohibited%20Fireworks%20Chemicals-02-21-2012.pdf