Number Crunching

Sometimes things make you think.

And sometimes folk make you think you need to think more.

A few weeks ago, in my local paper, I saw the headline 'Well done for recycling 25 jumbo jets off waste', and was frankly, impressed.

It was a letter to the county's public by the Environment Cabinet member, celebrating the 5,000th tonne of waste collected for the EnviroSort facility.

Certainly, other than that sidelined here for reuse, our household has 'done it's bit' with the new wheelies.

But then I read a follow-up letter the next week, pointing out that it worked out at 0.6kg per week per person in the county.

Further, the free paper this message was in, is a weekly 0.15kg. Made me think twice before getting too impressed too quickly. Better than nothing, but perhaps a ways to go?

But just in case, I'll also await next week to see if there is more to the way the numbers get crunched than meets the eye.

Pick a pocket or two

DEFRA - The environment in your pocket

Looks fun... well if you're into that kind of thing. Hey, maybe there will be too many reapets on Tv to bear. Here's the blurb I got:

(DEFRA) The environment in your pocket 2008

The twelfth edition of The environment in your pocket is published today by Defra. This is an annual publication containing material on various environmental themes including climate change, air quality, waste and recycling, land, coastal and marine waters, radioactivity, wildlife and inland water. The main theme of this year's publication is climate change and a larger section has been devoted to topics relating to climate change.

It covers almost 60 key data series and focuses on providing trends over time, including performance against quantified targets and commitments set at the national and international level. It includes several environmental indicators of sustainable development.

Examples of facts and figures reported in the booklet include:

* 2007 was one of the warmest years on record with a mean Central England temperature 1.05degrees C above the1961-1990 average.

* In 2007 an average of 1,029 mm of rain fell across the UK, making it 12 per cent wetter than the 1961-1990 average.

* In 2007, 72 per cent of river lengths in England were of good biological quality and 76 per cent were of good chemical quality.

Just the facts, Ma'am

A worthwhile piece (ongoing series) by Auntie:

What the survey didn't say...
The myth of counting
Putting percentages in context
Just what is average?
Just because?

With luck her reporters, anlaysts and commentators (and others) may take heed.

From a source with 'Statistics' in it: a survey

How green are we? New figures show Britons back recycling

And I'm backing Britain. With my Volvo, my Apple Mac....

Look, all positive trends are welcome, and a big up for 'better' is OK, but what has been the cost of getting these 'figures'?

And there is still all the other stuff on the negative end of enviROI that might affect the total.

I think I will treat this with the same level of regard I do most other stats... and polls.

Lies, damn lies... and who we should be talking to

The UK family: in statistics

I found it interesting anyway.

And what a state it's in!

BBC - state of the planet

Irony Alert!

Next post down: 3m extra homes 'still not enough'