Numbers in the news

1M

A Potter County woman was among those who won $1 million from the Pennsylvania Lottery in July. Juanita Kjems of Harrison Valley had her name drawn in the Millionaire Raffle drawing.

She bought her winning ticket in Tioga County, at Pump N Pantry, Lawrenceville. That store received a $5,000 selling bonus from the Pennsylvania Lottery.

82

Despite all the talk about line-item vetoes or other efforts to trim federal spending, about 82 percent of the budget is pretty much set it stone.

About 61 percent of the federal budget goes toward entitlements and interest payments on government borrowing. Another 21 percent is locked in for defense and homeland security.

4.5

Low-income families are getting hit hard by rising food prices. Grocery costs rose by 4.5 percent in September.

Over the past year, egg prices have risen by 44 percent, milk by 21 percent, chicken by 8 percent and coffee by 7 percent.

83

Oil prices hit $83 a barrel last week, raising the possibility of the first-ever $100 barrel. Steve Rhoads, executive director of the Pa. Oil and Gas Assn., said the figure could rise, but is also likely to fall, based on past trends.

Rhoads said the current push to find additional oil and natural gas deposits are fueled by the global economy and the strength of the U.S. dollar against the value of a barrel of oil. Oil is especially in demand in China and India, Rhoads added.

Pennsylvania's annual crude oil production is a robust 3.5 million barrels.

Rhoads said natural gas exploration is even hotter right now in Pennsylvania. There is pressure on the state to open its forest land to shallow gas drilling.

8

From the Get A Life Department - the average American household has one or more televisions on for more than eight hours per day. The average for 2006 was eight hours, 14 minutes, unchanged from the previous year.

As for the amount of time spent watching TV, the average American spends four hours and 34 minutes in front of the set each day.

36

Pennsylvania trappers have a legal obligation to check their traps every 36 hours. Most trappers, however check traps even more frequently.

Experienced trappers know that it's best to check traps earlier to ensure captured furbearers stay in the trap; no one steals the captured furbearer and trap; and the captured furbearer spends no more time restrained than necessary.

.002

A story in a trade publication reported the cost of tap water at $.002 per gallon.

That compares to a price of up to $8.26 per gallon for bottled water, depending on container size.

Only 35 percent of bottled water is regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Laws require inspection only of commercial water crossing state lines.

The majority of bottled water sold in the U.S. comes from a tap, probably at a cost if about $.002 per gallon.

"Bottled water generally is no cleaner, no safer, or healthier than tap water," said Wenonah Hauter from Food & Water Watch. "In fact, the federal government requires far more rigorous and frequent safety testing and monitoring of municipal drinking water."

On a related note. U.S. plastic bottle production requires more than 1.5 million barrels of oil annually, enough to fuel 100,000 cars. About 86 percent of the empty plastic water bottles in the U.S. land in the garbage instead of being recycled.