Did you know?

It's Friday the 13th, one of my favorite days. Since Friday's are when politicians & certain news folks usually release the Big News of the day or week (so no one will see it because everyone has moved into weekend mode), let's do a recap.

Did you know...

1. That the US imported 339 million barrels of oil in Feb. '09, 62% of it from foreign countries, sending $13 billion overseas?
2. That the wealthiest Americans now have 35% tax rate (soon to be upped to 39.6%) while under Ronald Reagan they had 50%, under Nixon 70% and under Ike 91%?
3. That buildings in the US are responsible for 30% of the greenhouse gas emissions and 72% of all electricity use?
4. That Citigroup spent some of the $50 billion bailout money to organize big companies to defeat the Employee Free Choice Act (a bill that makes it easier for employees to form unions & bargain for higher wages)?
5. That the health care industry (insurance companies, etc.) has spent nearly $1 billion over the last 2 years just in lobbying?
6. That one in six homeowners will face foreclosure over the next 4 years?
7. That 1,4-dioxane, formaldehyde, or both were found in over 1/2 the samples tested for infant bubble bath & shampoo.
8. That coal plants are the single largest source of airborne mercury emissions in the world?
9. That US unemployment rose from 7.6 to 8.1% in February, with payrolls declining by 2.6 million in the past 4 months?
10. That over 1,180,207 hectares of arable land is lost due to soil erosion this year (the data keeps changing as the year progresses)?
11. That the US spent $2.4 trillion on health care (about $1928 per person) in 2006--that's 2.5 times more per person than any other developed country, yet the health of Americans lags behind those nations?

Sources:
1. The Pickens Plan at http://www.pickensplan.com/oilimports/.
2. The Washington Monthly, March 8, 2009.
3. Repower America, http://www.repoweramerica.org/plan/energy-efficiency/.
4. Credo Action via Huffington Post, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/12/citigroup-enters-union-fr_n_174106.html.
5. The Washington Post, March 8, 2009.
6. Credo Action, 3/10/09.
7. The Washington Post, 3/13/09.
8. Kansas Chapter Sierra Club, http://kansas.sierraclub.org/Wind/Coal-MercuryFactSheet.htm
9. Bureau of Labor Statistics, USDL, http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm
10. Worldometers, world statistics updated in real time, http://www.worldometers.info/.
11. Reported by AP from Business Roundtable, 3/14/09 (ok I cheated a few hours on this one).