April 2008 | On Our Radar
What Counts?
Compiled by Jenny Rough
1/3 Amount of earth’s natural resources that have been mined, chopped, blown up, or otherwise extracted in the past three decades alone.
5 Percentage of earth’s population living in the U.S. (yet Americans use up to 30 percent of the world’s resources and create 30 percent of the world’s waste).
3 to 5 Number of extra planets we would need if everyone consumed at American rates.
75 Percent of global fisheries that are fished at, or beyond, capacity.
100,000 Number of synthetic chemicals used in commerce today, many of which wind up in our bodies (human breast milk is the food at the top of the food chain with the highest level of many toxic contaminates).
30 Percentage of kids in the Congo who have dropped out of school to mine metals, the majority of which end up in cheap and disposable electronic products bought by Americans.
99 Percentage of stuff we harvest, mine, transport or otherwise produce that is trashed within six months (many products are specifically “designed for the dump”).
3000 Number of advertisements targeted at American consumers each day.
4.5 Pounds of garbage each American makes each day (twice as much as we made 30 years ago).
SOURCE: StoryofStuff.com, an online film narrated by Annie Leonard that takes viewers on a journey through our consumer-driven culture from extraction to production, distribution, consumption and disposal. For more dirty details, check out our chat with Leonard in this month’s Conversations section.
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