ENVIRONMENTAL TRIVIAS

O The African boabab tree can have a circumference as large as 100 feet. One
such tree in Zimbabwe is so wide that the hollowed-out trunk serves as a shelter
at a bus stop, with a capacity to hold as many as 40 people.

O n Los Angeles, discarded garments are being recycled as industrial rags and
carpet underlay. Such recycling keeps clothing out of landfills, where it makes up
4 percent of the trash dumped each year


O There are only about 50 geyser fields known to exist on Earth and approximately
2/3 of those 50 are home to 5 or fewer active geysers. Yellowstone National Park
in the state of Wyoming has more geysers than any other field known in the
world. The park has been the site of extensive study of the properties and
characteristics of geysers.

O The amount of lava produced when celand's Laki volcano erupted in 1783, was,
at 98 feet deep, enough to bury a four story, 66 foot home.
O The Agulhas current in the western ndian Ocean is the fastest ocean current in
the world. Even so, its speed is only 6 miles per hour.

O There's enough energy in 10 minutes of one hurricane to match the nuclear
stockpiles of the world.


O There is so much moisture in the air that if it were all to condense and fall, there
would be up to an additional 3 inches of water added to the earth's surface.

O There is so much moisture in the air that if it were all to condense and fall, there
would be up to an additional three inches of water added to the earth's surface.


O Thirty gallons, or 135 litres, of water is used for the average shower in the United
States.

O Three hundred and fourteen acres of trees are used to make the newsprint for
the average Sunday edition of the New York Times. There are nearly 63,000
trees in the 314 acres.
O The average American uses 8times as much fuel energy as an average person
anywhere else in the world.

O The average computer chip plant produces 4 million gallons of wastewater and
thousands of gallons of corrosive hazardous materials a day, such as
hydrochloric and sulfuric acid.


O The average daily growth of a bamboo plant is 35.4 inches.

O On November 12, 1970, the deadliest tornado of the twentieth century swept
through Bangladesh. Afterwards, 200,000 people were dead and 100,000 people
were missing. The country was hit by the second deadliest tornado in 1991,
when 131,000 people were killed. Two more cyclones were suffered in 1963
(22,000 dead) and 1965 (47,000 dead).


O The five deadliest hurricanes of the 20th century were Hurricane Mitch in 1998
where 11,000 people were killed; 1900's hurricane in Glaveston, Texas where
8,000 were killed; Hurricane Fifi in 1974 where 8,000 were killed; 1930's
hurricane in the Dominican Republic where 8,000 were killed; and Hurricane
Flora in 1963 where 7,200 people were killed.

O A 120-foot oak tree grows from a three-quarter-inch-long acorn.


O A bolt of lightning can strike Earth with a force as great as 100 million volts.

O A bolt of lightning travels at speeds of up to 100 million feet per second, or 72
million miles per hour.

O A cloud forest has a huge number of animals and plants. The cloud forests of
Monteverde, Costa Rica, have over 425 species of birds and countless varieties
of insects.


O To qualify as a hurricane, a storm must develop winds in excess of 75 miles per
hour. Wind speeds as high as 220 miles per hour have been recorded.
O A cold front travels at a speed of about 30 miles per hour, faster than the fastest
person can run. t may overtake any warm front ahead of it. The resulting mix of
air is called an occluded front.

O To save a 40-foot tree, a stack of newspapers averaging 4 feet in thickness must
be recycled.


O The average diameter of a one-carat diamond is 6.42 mm.

O The average hailstorm lasts about 15 minutes.

O The average hurricane generates energy roughly equivalent to 400 20-megaton
bombs exploding in one day the equivalent of all the electrical energy used in
the United States for six months.


O Twenty percent of China's plants are used in medicine.

O The average life expectancy of a white ash tree is 275 years.


O Twenty thousand plants are listed by the World Health Organization as being
used for therapeutic purposes.

O The average mature oak tree sheds approximately 700,000 leaves in the fall.


O Twenty-four-karat gold is not pure gold; there is a small amount of copper in it.
Absolutely pure gold is so soft that it can be molded with the hands.

O The average pollen particle is less than the width of a human hair. Pollens can
remain on your skin and hair for hours after spending time outdoors. Pollens can
travel as far as 400 miles and up to two miles high in the air.


O Use of less fertilizer at precisely the right times can cut costs by up to 17 percent
for farmers in developing countries, and reduce damage to the environment.

O The average rainfall around the world is 40 inches per year.
O Variations in color in pearls are still a mystery, but some experts believe that high
water temperatures contribute a golden cast to some pearls.

O The average speed of an avalanche is 22 miles per hour.


O Waste industry experts estimate that Americans discard 250 million tires each
year, and that more than 3 billion are stored in landfills or litter backyards and
"wildcat" dumps. Tires burning at landfills generate huge amounts of noxious air
pollution. This problem first came to national attention when hundreds of
thousands of tires at an East Coast landfill in the United States burned for three
years during the 1980s. Tire fires are difficult, and sometimes impossible, to
extinguish.

O The biggest snowflake ever reported measured 15 inches across.

O We rely on the Sun's output remaining steady for our climate to support life on
Earth. f the Sun's energy output would decreased by one-tenth, the entire Earth
would be covered in ice one mile thick; if the sun's energy increased by 30
percent, all life on Earth would be burnt to a cinder.

O The bleakest places on Earth are the two poles: the South Pole has no sunshine
for 182 days each year; the North Pole does slightly better it has no sunlight
for 176 days.

O The cirrus cloud, the highest type of cloud in altitude, contains extremely cold
water at -31 Fahrenheit.

O The Coco de mer, or double coconut palm of the Seychelles, bears the largest
seed in the plant kingdom, weighing up to 60 pounds.

O The core of a upward lightning stroke is only a few inches across but can carry a
current of 100,000 amperes, enough to run nearly 8,000 electric toasters at the
same time.

O The deadliest plant in the world is the castor bean plant. t is estimated that the
protein, ricin, found in the castor bean plant is 6,000 times more poisonous than
cyanide.

O The deadliest volcanic eruption of the 20th century was on May 8, 1902, when
Mount Pelee on Martinique erupted and killed 30,000 people. Most of the deaths
were caused by hot ash flows. By the time the eruption ended, 15% of the
island's population was dead.
O Without any greenhouse effect, Earth would be cold and lifeless with an average
temperature of 0.4 degrees Fahrenheit.

O n one day, a full-grown oak tree expels 7 tons of water through its leaves.

O n one year, Americans generate enough hazardous waste to fill the New
Orleans Superdome 1,500 times over.

O n one year, the average tree gives off enough oxygen to allow four people to
breathe for a year.