April 22, 2012, marks the 42nd anniversary of Earth Day — a day
intended to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's natural
environment. The day came from reaction to a massive oil spill in waters
near Santa Barbara, Calif., in 1969. In honor of Earth Day — and Earth
Week (April 16-22) — this edition of Profile America Facts for Features
includes examples of Census Bureau statistics pertaining to energy and
the environment.
Collecting Waste
$1.6 billion
Estimated revenue for “hazardous waste treatment — radioactive waste” in 2010 for U.S. employer firms was up 36.0 percent from 2009.
Source: 2010 Sevice Annual Survey
$715 million
Estimated revenue for “residential nonhazardous recyclable collection services” in 2010 for U.S. employer firms was up 26.5 percent from 2009.Source: 2010 Service Annual Survey
$2.5 billion
Estimated revenue for “building remediation services — asbestos contamination” in 2010 for U.S. employer firms was up 22.8 percent from 2009.Source: 2010 Service Annual Survey
Heating and Cooling the Home
2.2 million
Estimated number of occupied housing units across the country heated by wood in 2010, which is less than 2 percent of all homes.Source: 2006-2010 ACS Five Year Estimates Table B25040
38,010
Estimated number of occupied housing units across the country heated by solar energy in 2010.Source: 2006-2010 ACS Five Year Estimates Table B25040
57.0 million
Estimated number of occupied housing units across the country heated by utility gas in 2010, which is about half of all homes.Source: 2006-2010 ACS Five Year Estimates Table B25040
88%
Estimated percent of newly built single-family homes across the country with air-conditioning in 2010. In 1974, it was 48 percent.Source: 2010 Characteristics of New Housing
Commuting to Work
25.3 minutes
Estimated average time for workers 16 years and older across the country spent getting to work in 2010, up from 25.1 minutes in 2009.Source: 2010 ACS
31.8 minutes
Estimated average time for workers 16 years and older in Maryland spent getting to work in 2010, the longest commute time in the nation.Source: 2010 ACS
16.1 minutes
Estimated average time workers 16 years and older in North Dakota spent getting to work in 2010, the shortest commute time in the nation.Source: 2010 ACS
Working in the Nuclear and Forestry Fields
41,502
Number of workers employed in nuclear electric power generation across the U.S. in 2009. They had an average salary of $110,355.Source: 2009 County Business Patterns
53,003
Number of workers employed in forestry and logging across the U.S. in 2009. They had an average salary of $35,127.Source: 2009 COunty Business Patterns
Building a House
2,392 square feet
The average size of a single-family house built in 2010, down from 2,438 square feet in 2009.Source: 2010 Characteristics of New Housing
$272,900
The average sales price of a new single-family home in 2010, up from $270,900 in 2009 but down from $313,600 in 2007.Source: 2010 Characteristics of New Housing
9,000
The number of multifamily buildings built across the U.S. in 2010. Of these, 62 percent had at least five units.Source: 2010 Characteristics of New Housing
Watching Nature's Fury
36.8 million
The 2010 Census population (as of April 1, 2010) of the coastal portion of states stretching from North Carolina to Texas ― the area most threatened by Atlantic hurricanes. Approximately 12 percent of the nation's population live in these areas.Source: 2010 Census
15
The number of hurricanes to hit Florida's Monroe County from 1960 to 2008, the most in the country. The 2010 population of 73,090 was down 8.2 percent from 2000. Lafourche Parish in Louisiana and Carteret County in North Carolina have each seen 14 hurricanes from 1960 to 2008. Lafourche's population has risen 7.1 percent over the past decade while Carteret's population has risen 11.9 percent.Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the US Census Bureau State and County QuickFacts
