13 Spooky Halloween Facts!!!

1) There are areas of the ocean that are oxygen-starved and can no longer sustain marine life.  We call this a dead zone.  These areas exist in the Gulf of Mexico, all up the eastern side of the United States, in the waters surrounding Europe and China.  Today these dead zones cover an area roughly the size of the state of Oregon.  

2) There are 560 million people living in China's cities. Only 1 % of these people breathe air that is considered safe by the European Union.  I am sure that the fact that China is burning almost as much coal as the rest of the world combined has something to do with this. 

3) Only 1% of the fresh water able to be used for drinking on the planet is readily accessible.  

4) Every day in the U.S., we generate about 600,000 tons of trash.  This is about the weight of the Empire State Building!

5)  1% of US landfill space is filled with disposable diapers.  It is estimated that it takes 250 - 500 years for a diaper to decompose so these diapers will be around for a little while.  


6) In America 25% of people do not recycle.  We have only 5%  of the Earth's population living here.  We generate 30% of the earths waste.  If the entire world lived like the average American, we would need 5 planets to provide enough resources.

With those that do recycle we save 17 trees, 2 barrels of oil, 4,100 kilowatts of energy, 3.2 cubic  yards of landfill space and 60 pounds of air pollution each day.  So what if we all recycled? 

7) There are about 5000 species of mammals on Earth.  One in four mammals is at risk of extinction.

8) We lose at least 50 million acres of rainforest annually. There are This is an
area the size of England, Wales and Scotland combined.


9) Today we are producing approximately 300 million tons of plastic every year. It is nearly impossible to make it through a day without coming into contact with plastic literally hundreds of times.  In the United States roughly 85% of the plastic we consume ends up in the landfills and oceans.

10) Some areas of the ocean contain hundreds of thousands of pieces of plastic per square mile.

11) Each minute We add 12,000 tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.

12) Each Hour 1,692 acres of productive dry land become desert.

13) Each  day 25,000 people die of water shortage or contamination.