Current Facts 16

Hybrid Blue Book
A 2004 Toyota Prius hybrid had a Kelley Blue Book value of $20,100 in August 2005. By April, the value of the same used car had increased to $20,600. The value of a Honda Civic hybrid jumped from $15,150 to $16,950.-The Wall Street Journal.
The Week Magazine, May 19, 2006, Vol 6, Iss 259, pg. 36.

Dolphin Names
Scientists revealed that not only do bottlenose dolphins have names for one another, expressed in distinctive patterns of whistles, but that two dolphins will sometimes refer to a third dolphin by name even when he/she isn't present.
The Week Magazine, May 19, 2006, Vol 6, Iss 259, pg. 6.

President Bush Jokes
As President Bush's approval ratings have sunk, the number of jokes about Bush on the latenight shows of Jay Leno, David Letterman, and Conan O'Brien have doubled to a combined total of 102 per month. At the height of the Lewinsky affair, the number of jokes about President Clinton on the three shows reached 140 a month.-The Washington Post.
The Week Magazine, May 19, 2006, Vol 6, Iss 259, pg. 18.

Constitution Interpretation
President Bush has claimed the authority to ignore or disobey at least 750 laws passed by Congress on the grounds that they conflict with his reading of the Constitution. In his eight years in office, Bill Clinton challenged the legitimacy of 140 laws.-Boston Globe
The Week Magazine, May 12, 2006, Vol 6, Iss 258, pg 16.

Rolling Stones 1,000th Issue
Rolling Stone magazine celebrates its 1,000th issue this month...with a 3-D cover that mimics the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper sleeve and cost $1 million to produce. Although circulation has been flat the past few years at slightly more than 1.3 million...Vibe has 836,000...and Blender has 693,000...according to the Capell Circulation Report.
Seattle Times, News, Thur May 4, 2006, pg A2.

Stay-at-home Salary
A full-time stay-at-home mother would earn $134,121 a year (for 91.6 hours of work each week) according to Salary.com. Employed mothers, the study found, put in 49.8 hours of work at home after they leave the office. To reach projected figures, the survey calculated the earning power of the 10 jobs that responents said most closely compromise a mothers role: housekeeper, day-care teacher, cook, computer operator, laundry machine operator, janitor, facilities manager, van driver, chief executive and psychologist.
Seattle Times, News, Thur May 4, 2006, pg A2, & The Week Magazine, May 12, 2006, Vol 6, Iss 258, pg 6..

Recycled Paper
Americans recycled 51 million tons of paper in 2005, or about 346 pounds per person. That represents 52 percent of all paper products consumed, and an increase of 76 percent since 1990.-Forbes
The Week Magazine, May 12, 2006, Vol 6, Iss 258, pg 36..

That's Garbage
Today Americans generate 472 billion pounds of trash every year, including 96 billion pounds of food, more than 300 pounds per person. And that's only about 2 percent of the total waste stream. The rest is industrial refuse, including mine tailings, agricultural waste, construction debris, and exotics like pickle liquor (an acid solution used to clean steel). Landfills are actually the number one human-generated source of methane, belching 7 million tons into the atmosphere each year. Americans throw away about 50 billion aluminum cans each year. If you dug up all the cans discarded in the past 30 years, they'd be worth nearly $20 billion. One quart of motor oil, improperly disposed of, can pollute 250,000 gallons of drinking water. In 2002 marine researcher Charles Moore surveyed 500 square miles of the North Pacific and found 10 pounds of floating plastic for every pound of living plankton in the water. Discover Magazine, June 2006, pg. 22

Wind Farm
(5.14.06) "Officials announced plans Thursday for the nation's largest offshore wind farm, consisting of as many as 170 windmills in the Gulf of Mexico," AP reports. "Houston-based Superior Renewable Energy will build and operate the project, which will be situated within about 10 miles of Padre Island. It is expected to cost $1 billion to $2 billion and should be ready in five years."

Poverty
According to the United Nations, 3 billion people (close to half the world's population) on Earth live in poverty, subsisting on less than $2 per day. And every day, more than 40,000 children (practically one child every two seconds) succumb to starvation-related disease.
Fact or Crap Page-a-Day Calendar, 4.20.06

Teens & Soda
The average 15-19 year-old currently guzzles 24 ounces of soda every day, which adds up to 1.5 pounds of sugar a week.-St Louis Post Dispatch
The Week Magazine, May 19, 2006, Vol 6, Iss 259, pg. 18

British Health
Among US citizens age 55 or over, the rates of cancer, diabetes and heart failure are almost double those in Britain. Americans spend $5,200 per capita for health care every year compared to $2,100 for the British. The problem isn't lack of access to doctors. But it may be that Britain's universal health-care system puts more of an emphasis on public health and early detection, whereas the profit-driven US system tends to treat diseases without systematically looking to prevent what causes them.
The Week Magazine, May 19, 2006, Vol 6, Iss 259, pg. 18