Statistically Speaking

Last week, Forbes magazine voted Pittsburgh the 10th cleanest city in the world. This week’s statistics shed light on the environmental state of the rest of the country.

Number of pounds of air pollution the average American contributes to the atmosphere annually: 1859

Number of empty soft drink bottles thrown out every minute in the United States: 37,000

Number of years it takes a piece of plastic to decompose: 500

Number of acres of federal land (over 30% of all U.S. territory) from which the U.S. government has removed hazardous fuels since 2001: 19 million

The percent decrease of the level of pollutants in the atmosphere since 2001: 10

Number of people who celebrate Earth Day: 500 million

Sources: (www.p2pays.org,) (www.ecokids.ca,) (www.planetpals.com,) (www.whitehouse.gov)