Point by Fascinating Point

Changes in U.S. from high cost of gas

alice — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 18:00:59 +0000

Very interesting bullet list of recent data and source articles relating to the decrease in gas consumption.

The most interesting stat, I think, is in the comments, where one reader reported that out-of-gas calls to AAA have doubled. There is a CNN story about it.

In case you’re starved for data, AAA also has a Daily Fuel Gauge Report, which tracks the retail price averages for gasoline.

Global Terrorism’s Dramatic Rise

alice — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 22:11:13 +0000

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.

The Rise of Corn-derived Ethanol

alice — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 21:13:31 +0000

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 â€” the main crop used for ethanol in the U.S. â€” 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.

Avian Flu “Favors” Younger Age Groups?

alice — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 22:51:15 +0000

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 10â€“19 age group. WHO gathered these statistics beginning in November 2003 â€” when the first cases came to light â€” until just this past November 2006.

Drug Reaction Deaths

alice — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 22:13:21 +0000

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.