The Page That Counts: Summer 2012

Amount that super PACs backing the four main Republican candidates raised during January 2012: $27.2 million 

Percentage that came from five large donors: 25¹ 

Percentage that spending on ads by outside groups has increased since January 2008: 1,281.8 ²

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Average monthly earnings for people with an Associate’s degree, according to a 2009 study: women $3,048, men $4,000

Average monthly earnings for people with a Bachelor’s degree: women  $3,750, men $5,117

Average monthly earnings for people with an advanced degree: women $5,000, men $6,667³

Photo courtesy of Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation.

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On average, percentage that violent crime is reduced in the United States for each additional year in school: 30⁴

Amount the State of California spends per student per year: $8,667

Amount the State of California spends per prisoner per year: about $50,000⁵

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March 2012 settlement to individuals and businesses harmed by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill: $7.8 billion⁶

BP profits in 2011: $25.7 billion⁷

Percentage increase in BP shares the day after the settlement: 2.3⁸ 

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Percentage of the world’s fisheries that are fully exploited, overexploited, or collapsed: 85⁹

Pounds of wild-caught fish used as food to produce one pound of farmed salmon: 5

Percentage of fish eaten worldwide that are farmed: 50¹⁰

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Percentage of 2012 Oscar voters who were white: 94

Percentage who were male: 77 

Percentage of total acting Oscars awarded to African Americans since 1929: 4

Number of best director Oscars awarded to women since 1929: 1¹¹

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As of February 23, 2012, the extra cost per barrel of oil due to financial speculation: $23.39

Extra amount per gallon paid at the gas pump:  56 cents ¹²

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Percentage of Americans who believe that regulations for hydrofracking should be tighter: 65¹³

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Population of Copenhagen: 549,050

Percentage of Copenhagen residents who commute by bicycle to work or school: 55¹⁴

Total amount of health costs saved in Copenhagen by cycling rather than driving in 2010: $302 million¹⁵

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1. USA Today, Feb. 22, 2012. 2. Wesleyan Media Project, Political Advertising Analysis, Jan. 30, 2012. 3. U.S. Census Bureau, February 2012. 4. American Economic Review, “The Effect of Education on Crime: Evidence from Prison Inmates, Arrests, and Self-Reports,” 2004. 5. Washington Post, March 6, 2012. 6. New York Times, March 3, 2012. 7.The Guardian, Feb. 7, 2012. 8. Reuters UK, March 5, 2012. 9. Scientific American, March 2012. 10. Live Science, September 2009. 11. Los Angeles Times, Feb. 19, 2012. 12. Forbes, Feb. 27, 2012. 13. Bloomberg News National Poll, March 8 - 11, 2012. 14. City of Copenhagen, accessed April 4, 2012. 15. Copenhagen City of Cyclists Bicycle Account, 2010.