By the Numbers

148,000

Malls and big box stores that closed in 2008

Million, the surplus of large-lot (a sixth of an acre or more) homes expected in the U.S. by 2025

107

Million tons of CO2 that could be saved each year if all Americans drove their cars 20 fewer miles each week

239

Million tons of CO2 that would be saved by improving the fuel efficiency of the average American car by 5 mpg

Percent larger the average new house built today is than 30 years ago

Billion dollars Dow Corp. has saved since 1995 through energy saving measures

Percent of the world’s sugar crop used by Coca-Cola

Percent, the amount Coca-cola is on track to improve its water use efficiency by 2012

47,000

Miles of interstate highways in the United States

2,640

Gallons of water required to grow enough organic cotton for a single t-shirt

.006

Percent of world GDP it would cost annually to stabilize CO2 leves at 450 parts per million, a ninth of what is currently spent on health care

Sources: The New Yorker; National Geographic; Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech; Time