Grist: Adam Lowe

Wet's the Matter?

Adam Lowe — Wed, 03 May 2000 19:59:59 +0000

1.1 billion — the number of people worldwide who lack an adequate and safe supply of water for their daily needs, approximately one in five
5 million — the number of people, mostly children, who die each year from illnesses caused by poor-quality water supplies
5 — the minimum number of gallons of water needed to meet a person’s daily needs, according to the World Health Organization
4.5 — the average number of gallons of water consumed daily per person in Haiti in 1995
24 million — the number of people in Bangladesh estimated to be drinking water from arsenic-tainted shallow wells
50 — the percentage of people in Africa who suffer from water-related diseases such as cholera and infant diarrhea
20 — the percentage of the world’s freshwater supply that is in Canada, which recently banned bulk exports of water
$90 billion — estimated annual global investments in public water supplies
$4 billion — estimated annual sales of the U.S. bottled water industry
2 — the number of people who stripped naked during the opening ceremonies of the recent World Water Forum, to protest the construction of a dam in Spain

Sources:
1 — World Health Organization, “Focus on Sanitation,” Environmental Health Newsletter, No. 27, October 1997.
2 — Maude Barlow, Blue Gold: The Global Water Crisis and the Commodification of the World’s Water Supply, International Forum on Globalization, June 1999.
3,4 — Michael Norton, Neighborhood Committees Tackle Haiti’s Water Shortage, Associated Press, May 4, 1998.
5 — U.S. Water News Online, Arsenic Poison in Bangladesh Wells Reduces Access to Safe Water, April 2000.
6 — Reuters News Service, Africa Deluge Masks Water Shortage Threat, March 15, 2000.
7 — Environment Canada, Bulk Water Removals and Water Export – Frequently Asked Questions.
8 — Reuters News Service, Water Conference to Tackle Growing Global Crisis, March 17, 2000.
9 — Natural Resources Defense Council, Bottled Water: Pure Drink or Pure Hype?, March 1999.
10 — Reuters News Service, Global Forum Urges Clean Water for All, March 20, 2000.

Bean Counting

Adam Lowe — Thu, 13 Apr 2000 20:00:40 +0000

3,300 — number of cups of coffee that are consumed each second worldwide
6.3 million — metric tons of coffee produced in the world in the 1999-2000 crop year
25 million — number of farmers who grow coffee worldwide, the majority on small-scale farms
600-800 AD — the era in which an Ethiopian goat herder named Kaldi reportedly discovered coffee after observing that his goats become very excited upon eating coffee berries
60 — percentage of Ethiopia’s export earnings derived from coffee sales in 1995
40 — percentage of coffee-growing lands in Colombia, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean that are “technified” sun coffee plantations, where coffee is densely planted with little shade cover from native trees and doused with chemical fertilizers and pesticides
90 — percentage drop in species of migratory birds found on technified sun coffee plantations as compared to traditional shade-grown coffee plantations
$80 million — U.S. Agency for International Development funding for projects in the 1970s and 1980s that encouraged Latin American farmers to switch to technified coffee-growing methods
80 — average milligrams of caffeine per cup of coffee, in a study of Canadian homes, offices, and coffee shops
402 — number of cups of coffee consumed per capita in Canada in 1997, 77 more than in the U.S. and 152 more than in Europe
20-300 — micrograms of caffeine per liter of output from a typical municipal wastewater treatment facility. (Caffeine is often one of the highest volume contaminants in the morning, thanks to all those early cups of java.)

Sources:
1 — Commission for Environmental Cooperation, Measuring Consumer Interest in Mexican Shade-grown Coffee: An Assessment of the Canadian, Mexican and U.S. Markets, October 1999.
2 — International Coffee Organization, “Market Information: Production.”
3 — Mitchell, Chip, “Bittersweet: As competition brews among coffee fair traders, a movement comes of age,” Connection to the Americas, Vol. 15 No. 8, October 1998.
4 — Good, Jonathan, “Coffee” in Trade Products in Early Modern History, James Ford Bell Library, University of Minnesota, January 22, 1999.
5 — U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, “Ethiopia” in The World Factbook 1999.
6-8 — Natural Resources Defense Council and the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, Coffee, Conservation, and Commerce in the Western Hemisphere, 1996.
9 — International Coffee Organization, “About Coffee: Caffeine.”
10 — “Canadian Consumption: CSD #1. But Trends Differ From U.S. and Europe,” in Beverage Digest, August 21, 1998.
11 — U.S. Geological Survey, Contaminants in the Mississippi River, Circular 1133, 1995, and Raloff, Janet, “Drugged Waters: Does it matter that pharmaceuticals are turning up in water supplies?” Science News, March 21, 1998.

Fool's Gold

Adam Lowe — Wed, 05 Apr 2000 20:00:17 +0000

125,000 metric tons — estimated amount of gold mined worldwide since historical times
2,500 metric tons — amount of gold mined worldwide in 1998
360 cubic feet — amount of waste rock removed in order to produce enough gold to make an average pair of gold wedding bands
31 — number of fatalities in gold mines in the U.S. from 1994 to 1998, an average of 1 death per 54.2 metric tons of gold
1,634 — number of fatalities in gold mines in South Africa from 1994 to 1998, an average of 1 death per 1.6 metric tons of gold
$430 million — 1999 profits of Anglogold Limited, the largest gold mining company in the world, which produces nearly half of South Africa’s gold
$3.8 million — contributions by mining companies and political action committees to federal candidates and political parties in the U.S. during the 1997-1998 election cycle
$0.8 million — contributions by all environmental advocacy organizations and political action committees to federal candidates and political parties in the U.S. during the 1997-1998 election cycle
105 A.D. — year when the Roman Empire annexed the “Golden Quadrilateral” region of Romania, securing a valuable gold supply
1998 A.D. — year when the post-Communist Romanian government passed legislation allowing foreign investment in its mining industries, attracting investments from Australian, Canadian, British, and U.S. firms
13 — the number of documented pollution spills from Romanian mines since 1998

Sources:
1, 2 — U.S. Geological Survey, “Gold” in Minerals Yearbook 1998.
3 — Corporate Watch and Project Underground, Global Gold Fever, May 19, 1997. Based on U.S. mining figures.
4 — U.S. Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration, Metal and Nonmetal 1994-1998 Fatality Summary and Grist calculation, based on U.S. 1994-1998 gold mine production of 1,680 metric tons, as reported in U.S. Geological Survey, “Gold” in Mineral Commodity Summaries 1999.
5 — United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, “South Africa: Focus on Mine Deaths” in Integrated Regional Information Network, January 21, 2000, and Grist calculation, based on South Africa 1994-1998 gold mine production of 2,558 metric tons, as reported in Chamber of Mines of South Africa, SA Mining Industry Statistical Tables 1998/99.
6 — Grist calculation based on 1999 profit of RAN2.65 billion, as listed in Yahoo!, Market Guide — Anglogold Limited, and exchange rate of 6.152 rand / U.S. dollar on 12.31.99, as listed in Xenon Laboratories, Interactive Currency Table.
7, 8 — The Center for Responsive Politics, The Big Picture: The Money Behind the 1998 Elections.
9, 10 — Mining Magazine, Rosia Montana — Romania’s super pit?, November 1999.
11 — Greenpeace International, The Real Face of the Kangaroo, March 2000 and additional news reports.

Gas 'n' Uh-oh

Adam Lowe — Wed, 29 Mar 2000 20:00:42 +0000

40 percent — petroleum’s share of global energy consumed in 1998
$246 — amount spent by the author on gasoline to drive a 1987 Honda Accord 5,700 miles on a cross-country road trip from Feb. 15 to March 15, 2000
$433 — estimated amount the author would have spent if he had driven a new Ford Explorer 4WD, the most popular sports utility vehicle in the U.S.
$725 — the cost of an equivalent amount of gas in 1981, adjusted for inflation to today’s dollars
1.7 billion — the number of urban residents in developing nations who are in danger of lead poisoning
90 percent — the share of airborne lead pollution in developing nations’ urban areas that is caused by leaded gasoline
93 percent — the share of all gasoline sold in Africa in 1996 that contained lead
0 percent — the share of all gasoline sold in Canada today that contains lead
$155 million — Octel Corporation’s 1999 profits from the sale of the gasoline lead additive TEL
80 percent — Octel’s share of the world TEL market, which consists primarily of developing countries
4 — the rank, by volume, of MTBE (methyl tertiary butyl ether) among organic chemicals produced in the U.S. (MTBE is a compound added to reformulated and oxygenated gasolines to reduce smog-causing air pollutants.)
35 percent — the share of community drinking water wells in 31 U.S. states that are potentially threatened by MTBE contamination, as a result of fuel spills and leaking underground tanks

Sources:
1 — U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, “Tables E1 and E2,” International Energy Annual 1998.
2 — Receipts in possession of the author.
3 — Grist calculation, based on average price of $1.51 per gallon that the author paid and a 20-mile-per-gallon highway fuel efficiency for Ford Explorer 4WD vehicles, as listed in U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Energy, 2000 Model Year Fuel Economy Guide, November 1999.
4 — Grist calculation, based on U.S. city average retail price for all types of motor gasoline of $0.909 per gallon in 1981, as listed in U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration,Monthly Energy Review. Price adjusted for inflation based on U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics,Consumer Price Index, All Urban Consumers.
5, 6 — World Bank Group, World Bank Recommends Global Phase-Out of Leaded Gasoline, Press Release No. 96/68S, May 18, 1996.
7 — Kitman, Jamie Lincoln, “The Secret History of Lead,” The Nation, March 20, 2000.
8 — Thomas, Valerie M., “The Elimination of Lead in Gasoline,” Annual Review of Energy and Environment, Vol. 20, 1995:301-24.
9, 10 — Business Wire, Octel Corp. Reports Fourth Quarter and Year End 1999 Results, February 10, 2000.
11, 12 — Johnson, Richard, et. al., “MTBE: To What Extent Will Past Releases Contaminate Community Water Supply Wells?” Environmental Science & Technology, May 1, 2000: 2A.

Mercury Falling

Adam Lowe — Wed, 16 Feb 2000 20:00:58 +0000

1,931 advisories have been issued by state and local governments telling the public to limit consumption of fish caught in local water bodies due to mercury contamination
1 mercury-containing home fever thermometer can contaminate a 20-acre lake with enough mercury to provoke a fish consumption warning
$3 – $5 is the extra cost of purchasing a mercury-free digital fever thermometer instead of a mercury-containing one
4,581 metric tons of mercury are stockpiled by the federal government, but have been declared surplus to the nation’s needs
2.8 billion home fever thermometers could be filled with the government’s surplus mercury
2,236 metric tons of mercury were used in the U.S. in 1976 in all industries
554 metric tons of mercury were used in the U.S. in 1991 in all industries
277 metric tons of mercury is the U.S. government’s goal for maximum mercury usage in all industries in 2006
14 centuries ago, Chinese dentists first used mercury in a paste to fill dental cavities
184 years ago, dentist Aguste Taveau of Paris produced the first mercury and silver dental amalgam
100 million mercury-based dental amalgam fillings were placed in U.S. residents’ teeth in 1990
a 50 percent higher price is paid by dental patients for mercury-free fillings made of composite materials than for mercury-based amalgam fillings

Sources:
1 — EPA
2 — Lowell Center for Sustainable Production
3 — CVS.Com, WalMart.Com, DrugStore.Com
4 — U.S. Geological Survey
5 — Grist Magazine calculation, based upon Environmental Working Group estimate of the amount of mercury in an average home fever thermometer
6 — U.S. Bureau of Mines
7 — U.S. Geological Survey
8 — Environment Canada, EPA, and U.S. Geological Survey
9 — DAMS, Inc.
10 — World of Scientific Discovery
11 — U.S. Public Health Service
12 — Mercury Pollution Prevention in Michigan