Jaw-Dropping Statistics

February 2nd, 2009

For inspiration to help develop an idea for a semester long project, my Mainstreaming Information class was asked to present three examples of “jaw-dropping” statistics that highlight a particularly surprising situation or trend. I think much can be said about the following shocking data that affect our planet both environmentally and socially:

The Basic Problem with Coffee Cups

Paper cup use in 2006 accounted for 4 billion gallons of water wasted, 6.5 million trees cut down, and 4,884 billion BTU’s of energy used.

At the University of Washington, a college of roughly 42 thousand students, the Housing and Food Services Department estimates that 5000 paper coffee cups are thrown away every school day.

Starbucks found that 1.9 billion cups were used by Starbucks in 2000. In 2006, Starbucks reported that this figure had grown to 2.3 billion cups for use at their stores.

Starbucks has begun to use cups made from 10% post-consumer materials, while the remaining 90% of the cup is composed of new paper releases methane, a greenhouse gas with 23 times the heat-trapping power of carbon dioxide.

How often do we lie to others?

Most people lie to others once or twice a day and deceive about 30 people per week. The average is 7 times per hour if you count all the times people lie to themselves.

75% of all lies are for admittedly selfish purposes with 25% told for allegedly unselfish purposes.

35 percent of resumes contain lies

We lie in 30 to 38% of all our interactions

How much shower water does one person consume in a week?

One person can use almost 11,000 gallons a year if they take a 15 minute shower every day

You can save water by simply reducing the water flow from your hot or cold water faucets to regulate temperature instead of increasing the flow

Jaw-Dropping Statistics

Want to say something?

Jason Safir

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