Earth Day 2013—Some Facts About Energy in the U.S.

In recognition of the upcoming 43rd Earth Day (April 22, 2013) and accompanying Earth Week (April 16-22), the U.S. Census Bureau released a series of statistics relating to energy and the environment on Tuesday. We've collected them and have them below.

Fun fact: Earth Day was created by Wisconsin senator Gaylord Nelson in 1970 after the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill that dumped 100,000 barrels of crude into the Santa Barbara Channel off of California. The first Earth Day in 1970 led to the creation of the EPA and laws like the Clean Air and Endangered Species acts, and the day of recognition is still going strong.

Here's that data:

2.3 million 

Estimated number of occupied housing units across the country heated by wood in 2011, which is more than 2.0 percent of all homes.

40,063

Estimated number of occupied housing units across the country totally heated by solar energy in 2011.

57.0 million

Estimated number of occupied housing units across the country heated by utility gas in 2011, which is about half of all homes.

88%

Estimated percent of newly built single-family homes across the country with air-conditioning in 2011. In 1974, it was 48 percent.

25.5 minutes

Estimated average time for workers age 16 and older across the country spent getting to work in 2011, up from 25.1 minutes in 2009 and 25.3 minutes in 2010.

32.2 minutes

Estimated average time for workers age 16 and older in Maryland spent getting to work in 2011, the longest commute time in the nation. That’s up from 31.8 minutes in 2010.

16.9 minutes

Estimated average time workers age 16 and older in North Dakota and South Dakota spent getting to work in 2011, tied for the shortest one-way commute time in the nation.

49,174

Number of workers employed in nuclear electric power generation across the U.S. in2010, up from 41,502 in 2009. They had an average salary of $109,021, down from $110,355 in 2009.

53,525

Number of workers employed in forestry and logging across the U.S. in 2010, up from 53,003 in 2009. They had an average salary of $37,215, up from $35,128 in 2009.

19,061 trillion Btu

The energy consumption in the U.S. manufacturing sector in 2010, down almost 10 percent from the 21,098 trillion Btu (British thermal units) consumed in 2006.

-46%

The drop in the consumption of residual fuel oil in the U.S. manufacturing sector in 2010, going from 314 trillion Btu in 2006 down to 170 trillion Btu consumed in 2010.

2,480 square feet

The average size of a single-family house built in 2011.

$267,900

The average sales price of a new single-family home in 2011. In 2008, the average sales price was $292,600.

9,000

The number of multifamily buildings built across the U.S. in 2011. Of these, 51 percent had at least 10 units.

$1.5 billion

Estimated revenue for “waste collection – hazardous waste management collection services” in 2011 for estimated sources of revenue for U.S. employer firms.

$6.3 billion

Estimated revenue for “waste treatment and disposal – hazardous waste treatment and disposal services” in 2011 for estimated sources of revenue for U.S. employer firms. This was up 9.2 percent from 2010.

$6.3 billion

Estimated revenue for “local, fixed-route passenger transportation, by road and transit rail” in 2011 for estimated sources of revenue for employer firms. This is up 4.8 percent from 2010.

37.3 million

The July 1, 2011, population 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.

15

The number of hurricanes to hit Florida’s Monroe County from 1960 to 2008, the most in the country. The estimated population on July 1, 2011, of 73,873 is up 1.1 percent from the 73,090 counted on the last Census Day (April 1, 2010). Lafourche Parish in Louisiana and Carteret County in North Carolina have each seen 14 hurricanes from 1960 to 2008. Lafourche’s 2011 estimated population 96,666 and has risen 0.4 percent since the 2010 Census. Carteret’s 2011 estimated population of 67,373 has risen 1.4 percent. 

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