Point by Fascinating Point

In the last two years, the number of worldwide terrorist attacks have at least doubled. And obviously, along with that, the number of fatalities have also risen. The most dramatic jump, however, occurred after the Abu Ghraib torture photos were brought to light.

UPDATE (3/9/07): As brought up in other blogs, Abu Ghraib is not necessarily a causal event. Please note that there were many other issues that occurred at around the same time and after the Abu Ghraib scandal that also impact these figures, such as a ramping up of military action, call to action from certain terrorist leaders, rising sectarian violence and deadlier (read: more efficient and effective) suicide bombings.

As the U.S. searches for alternatives to petroleum fuels, the production of biofuels, such as ethanol (also known as grain alcohol), has increased year by year. In lockstep, the percentage of bushels of corn used for ethanol — the main crop used for ethanol in the U.S. — has also increased. According to a L.A. Times article referencing a recent USDA projection, the percent of corn used for ethanol may increase to more than 30% over the next decade.

Of the H5N1 avian flu cases reported to and verified by WHO, the number of cases for people younger than 30 years of age is disproportionately higher than those of older age groups. However, mortality rates are especially high among the 10–19 age group. WHO gathered these statistics beginning in November 2003 — when the first cases came to light — until just this past November 2006.

In light of recent news stories regarding the possible drug-interaction death of Anna Nicole Smith and her son, here are some statistics related to this.

Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) result in hundreds of deaths a year in the U.S. Whether these are reactions are from allergies, existing conditions, over-the-counter interactions or multiple drug interactions, is not quite known. And data for 2005 and 2006 is not yet available to help fill in the picture.

A graph showing increasing use of employer-sponsored health and wellness programs. This was based on a survey conducted by Harris Interactive, on behalf of Principal Financial Group, which has come out with the Principal Financial Well-Being Index for the past three years.