Environmental Statistics which Encourage Change

I am always overwhelmed by some of the environmental statistics I read, especially when it seems like this problem will never be solved. However, when statistics show how little changes can make a big difference, I can actually see where my effort can help in overall change. So today I thought I would share some interesting eco facts to inspire us all to make, at least, some small changes:

1. If 10,000 people drink only organic beverages for one week, we'll avert 32 full cocktail shakers of pesticides from pouring into the environment. (Source: Ideal Bite)

2. The US has less than 4% of its forests left and equally devastating is that 80% of the total world's forests are gone. (Source: Bikeroute.com)

3. Recycling 1 ton of paper saves: 17 trees, 2 barrels of oil (enough to run the average car for 1,260 miles), 4,100 kilowatts of energy (enough power for the average home for 6 months), 3.2 cubic yards of landfill space, and 60 pounds of air pollution. (Source: Trash to Cash)

4. The U.S. is 5% of the world's population but uses 25% of its natural resources. (Source: Environmental Protection Agency)

5. If every household in the U.S. replaced just one roll of 1,000 sheet virgin fiber bathroom tissues with 100% recycled ones, we could save: 373,000 trees, 1.48 million cubic feet of landfill space, and 155 million gallons of water. (Source: Seventh Generation Company)

6. Recycling just one aluminum can saves enough energy to operate a TV for 3 hours. (Source: Eco-Cycle)

7. Recycling collection and processing, and manufacturing with recycled materials employed
952,614 people in 2001, and paid $34 billion in wages. (Source: National Recycling Coalition, 2001)

8. The average American home contains more synthetic chemicals today than the average
chemical plant of 100 years ago. (Source: Windstar Foundation)

9. Globally, 58% of coral reefs are imperiled by human activity such as overfishing, sewage runoff, sedimentation, and dredging. (Source: Environmental Defense Fund)

10. Tropical rainforests in the Amazon store 75 billion tons of carbon dioxide in their trees and plants. When the forests are burned, carbon dioxide is released into the air. It has been estimated that 25% of total global CO2 emissions are from the burning of tropical rainforests. (Source: Rainforest Action Group)