Thursday, Jul. 19, 2007

Numbers

DRUGS

1 in 12

Proportion of full-time workers in the U.S. who, when asked as part of a 2002-04 federal study, said they had used drugs sometime during the previous month. Restaurant workers were the biggest users, at 17.4%

48.8%

Percentage of full-time workers who said their employers conducted drug testing

TOURISM

$1.38

Value of the euro against the U.S. dollar on July 13, an all-time high

6.3%

Percent increase, compared with 2006, in arrivals to the U.S. from Western Europe, through April. Tourism from that region was down 2.1% at the end of last year

ENERGY

27%

Percentage of Americans who think solar power will be the top source of electricity in the U.S. in 15 years

$159 million

Federal funding in 2007 for researching solar technology, which provided 0.01% of the U.S. power supply in 2006. In 2007 the U.S. will spend $303 million on nuclear-energy research and development and $427 million on coal R&D

HEALTH

12,000

Number of people who registered as organ donors in the Netherlands the month after a TV hoax featured three faux contestants vying for a kidney. Producers defended the production as a means of raising donor awareness

4,000

Highest number of Dutch donors who typically register in a month. The range is usually from 3,000 to 4,000

Sources: Huffington Post (3); U.S. Office of Travel and Tourism Industries; New York Times (2); BBC (2)