Endeavor News

NUMBERS IN THE NEWS





 

 

73—

Across the great divide

Few political issues are as divisive as gun control. A poll of Americans showed that 73 percent of registered Democrats believe that the federal government does not do enough to regulate guns. When the same question was posed to Republicans, 25 percent agreed.

“That polarization reflects a deep cultural divide,” said one of the researchers. “The country is divided by region, by gender, urban/ rural and education. Each side now views the other as not just wrong, but immoral.”

4M—

Saving Boy Scouts

Faced with a decrease of 4 million members, or 65 percent, since 1980, Boy Scouts of America opened its ranks to girls this year.

Michael Surbaugh, chief executive for BSA, said Scouting has a lot to offer young people: “Kids want what we have. The tradition of outdoors, camping, adventure, hiking is what we do. Many of the changes in family life have worked against us. There are more pressures on families these days – more activities for children, both parents in the work force. Because we didn’t adapt our program design, we have had a steady erosion.”

2—

Wind power gains traction

As symbolized by the launch of the Green Level Energy project in northeastern Potter County, wind-generated electricity is gaining strength.

The U.S. ranks a distant second behind China in construction of wind turbines that are plugged into the electrical grid.

In 2016, more than 64 giga-watts of power capacity was installed worldwide. China led the way wth 168,732 megawatts and now generates 4.4 percent of its power with wind. The U.S. trailed at 82,184 MW and now gets 5.5 percent of its electricity from turbines.

Following were India, 28,700 MW (9.1 percent); Turkey, 6,081 MW (7.3 percent); and The Netherlands, 4,328 MW (8.9 percent).

10—

Never stop believing

Ten percent of Americans surveyed believe that Elvis Presley is still alive.

Twenty percent believe that the sun revolves around the earth. Fifty-two percent believe that they can somehow sense when someone is staring at the back of their head.

Some 28 percent say they believe that they have been in contact with someone who died. That figure was 18 percent a decade ago. Nearly 20 percent say they have been in the presence of a ghost. Twenty-four percent believe in reincarnation. Sixteen percent believe that some people can cast curses or spells.

15.5—

Senior citizen population explosion

Senior citizens are by far the largest and fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population, a demographic shift that influences everything from consumer behavior to health care costs.

A mid-census report (2015) shows that the 65-and-over population grew 15.5 percent from 2000 to 2010 to 41 million people. That age group now represents 14.5 percent of the population, up from 12.4 in 2000.

There were 55,000 people 100 and older in the U.S. as of 2015, up 6.2 percent from 2000.

Florida has the largest share of its population that is 65 or over, with 18.3 percent, followed by West Virginia (17.0) and Maine (15.2). Meanwhile, Alaska (8.1 percent) and Utah (9.1) have the lowest proportions.

55—

We’ve got a mighty convoy

One of the hottest job markets today is truck driving. Some 55 percent of today’s truckers are 45 and older. Furthermore, just 25 percent of today’s drivers are younger than 35.

There is no indication that the nation’s fleet of 3.5 million trucks will decrease anytime soon. The big question is whether trucks can be automated to driverless vehicles.

A recent Uber study found that self-driving trucks are feasible for long-haul transportation on major highways, but the human element will continue to be needed for driving on tight and crowded streets, backing into complex loading docks and other situations.

450—

Black Forest now on Zito

Black Forest Broadcasting has returned to the Zito Media cable lineup in Coudersport, Austin, Emporium, Port Allegany and other communities in the region. The internet-based radio station, accessible online at blackforestbroadcasting.com, is on channel 450 on Zito’s digital cable menu. Those tuning to channel 450 are advised to wait a few seconds for the audio to engage.

As reported in last week’s Endeavor News, Black Forest Broadcasting is observing its 10th anniversary this year. Gerri Miller delivers news, music and public affairs programming from a studio in her home off Fishing Creek Road near Roulette.

$10M—

Investing in death, misery

A scathing report on the pharmaceutical industry was recently released by the U. S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. It documented $10 million in “donations” from 2012 to 2017 by the five biggest opioid manufacturers to patient advocacy groups and medical societies to promote the use of highly addictive drugs.

“This had the effect of turning these groups into cheerleaders for the opioids,” said committee member Sen. Claire McCaskill. “Dependent on drug companies for their funding, they continually used opioid-friendly messaging to undercut state and federal efforts to curb opioid prescribing. This is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of how drug company money shapes health care policy.”

As states moved to restrict the length and frequency of opioid prescriptions, drug companies and the patient groups fought back with aggressive lobbying campaigns. Topping the list of 14 recipients of the industry payoffs were the U.S. Pain Foundation ($2.9M), Academy of Integrative Pain Management ($1.3M) and the American Academy of Pain Medicine ($1.2M).

5—

It can’t happen to me

New laws, public service messages, roadside signs and other measures have failed to put much of a dent on drivers’ penchant for talking on their mobile phones while driving,

PennDOT reports that a driver who is talking on a cellphone, including the hands-free models, is five times more likely to be in an accident. Researchers have found that it’s not the manual handling of the phone that distracts a driver, but rather the fact that his attention is diverted from the road to the conversation.

The most alarming trend, PennDOT said, is an increase in drivers who are sending text messages or using their smartphones to surf the internet. Police are being trained to enforce laws designed to curb the practice and there are calls for stiffer penalties as traffic crashes related to texting while driving skyrocket.

$19.6B—

The price of love

St. Valentine’s Day is a big industry. Consumer spending for this year’s observance was about $19.6 billion, an average of $144 per shopper.


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