The End of Poverty: Solutions We Love

Americans Spend $1.8 Billion on Eating Out Every Day (And 23 Other Facts You Should Probably Know)

The End of Poverty: Solutions We Love

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Americans Spend $1.8 Billion on Eating Out Every Day (And 23 Other Facts You Should Probably Know)

Meanwhile, more Americans got insured, the oceans continued to become more acidic, and the world’s largest collection of rubber ducks grew at a rapid pace.

2 MIN READ
Aug 19, 2014

 

Driest year in recorded history for many areas of California: 2013

Percentage by which California Gov. Jerry Brown asked Californians to voluntarily reduce water use in January 2014: 20 1

Actual percentage reduction in water use in California between January and May 2014: 5 2


Amount Americans are projected to spend per day eating out in restaurants in 2014: $1.8 billion 3

Percentage of American adults who don’t know how to cook as of 2011: 28 4

Percentage of all adult American consumers at least 18 years old who report still calling their moms for cooking advice: 35 5


Number of rubber ducks in the world’s largest collection at the last official count in April 2011: 5,631 6

Estimated number of rubber ducks in the collection as of June 2014: 7,000 7


 Number of nonfatal violent and property hate crimes against persons 12 and older in 2004: 281,670 

Number of nonfatal violent and property hate crimes against persons 12 and older in 2012: 293,800


 Percentage of victims who perceived crimes were motivated by ethnicity bias in 2004: 22

Percentage of victims who perceived crimes were motivated by ethnicity bias in 2012: 51 8


 Percentage of children ages 3–5 below the federal poverty level with untreated tooth decay: 25

Percentage of children ages 3–5 above the federal poverty level with untreated tooth decay: 10.5 9


 Percentage of coffee growing area affected by leaf rust in Central America, highest since first appearance in 1976: 53 10

Estimated number of jobs lost in Central America because of leaf rust between 2012 and 2013: 394,000

Total amount Central America lost because of leaf rust between 2012 and 2013: $500 million 11

Value of Central American unroasted coffee imported to the United States in 2013: $1 billion 12


 Drop in ocean’s pH level since start of Industrial Revolution: 0.1

Percentage increase of acidity represented by this drop: 30 13

Percentage of acidity increase by the end of this century if current carbon emissions continue: 150 14


 Percentage of Americans without health insurance as of September 2013, the highest since Gallup began tracking the statistic in 2008: 18

Percentage of Americans without health insurance as of June 2014, the lowest since Gallup tracking began: 13.415 15

Total number of newly insured Americans since the Affordable Care Act was signed into law: 15 million 16

Sources:

1. California Department of Water Resources, 2014. 2. California Water Boards, July 2014. 3. National Geographic, May 2014. 4. Impulse Research, April 28, 2011. 5. Sullivan Higdon & Sink FoodThink, 2012. 6. Guinness World Records, 2014. 7. Personal communication with collection owner. 8. Bureau of Justice Statistics, February 2014. 9. National Center for Health Statistics, August 2012. 10. International Coffee Organization. 11. International Coffee Organization, May 13, 2013. 12. U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2014. 13. The Royal Society, June 2005. 14. Oceanography, December 2009. 15. Gallup, July 10, 2014. 16. Obama Care Facts, 2014.


Yessenia Funes
Yessenia Funes covers environmental justice for Earther. She is a former associate editor at YES!
Dana Drugmand
Dana Drugmand is a freelance journalist specializing in climate change, clean energy, and citizen activism. She holds a Master's degree in Environmental Law & Policy with a certificate in Climate Law from Vermont Law School.

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