Earth day by the numbers.

• Position: ENVIRONMENT

On April 22,1970, 20 million people participated in rallies and teach-ins across the U.S. to celebrate the first Earth Day. They were hoping to make the public aware of the toll that air, water, and land pollution were taking on the environment, and to encourage the nation to address these problems.

The message got through to Washington: Later in 1970, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was created, and soon after, Congress passed the Clean Air Act of 1970; the Clean Water Act followed in 1972.

Of course, it wasn't just the government that responded. People across the country started paying attention too. Today, for example, Americans recycle more than 33 percent of their trash, up from 10 percent in 1980.

Take a look at how the U.S. compares with other countries-and how U.S. states measure up against one another-in a number of environmental categories.

POWER POINTS

1. Portland, Oregon, has a higher percentage of bike commuters than any other U.S. city. What conditions might make a city biker-friendly?

2. The U.S. population is 313 million, versus 1.3 billion in China. What inferences can you draw about electricity use in the two countries?

3. What do the countries with the most carbon dioxide emissions have in common?

4. Texas, California, Florida, and New York rank highest in total energy consumption (not shown). Why does that ranking differ from the "High Energy" graph?

5. Why do you think some countries produce more municipal trash than others?

HIGH ENERGY States with highest annual energy consumption per person (in millions of BTU's *) Wyoming 956 Alaska 907 Louisiana 750 North Dakota 661 Iowa 472 Texas 456 South Dakota 444 Kentucky 435 Nebraska 423 Montana 422 SOURCE: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY, 2009 * BTU=BRITISH THERMAL UNIT UNDER A CLOUD Countries with highest annual carbon dioxide emissions (in thousands of metric tons) China 8,240,958 U.S. 5,492,170 India 2,069,738 Russia 1,688,688 Japan 1,138,432 Germany 762,543 Iran 574,667 South Korea 563,126 Canada 518,475 Saudi Arabia 493,726 SOURCE: CARBON DIOXIDE...