A Few Statistics

I am a language-arts person, but sometimes I look over the "Numbers" section of Time Magazine. The following is from the April 10, 2006 edition of Time:

"$853.7 billion China's foreign-currency reserves, which surpassed Japan's as the world's largest

"$202 billion China's 2005 trade surplus with the U.S., a record high that is partly fueled by Beijing's booming reserves

"259 Katrina-damaged school buses that New Orleans hopes to sell on eBay to raise money for its public-school system. Bids on one hit $5,500 within 29 hours

"23 Public schools in Orleans Parish--out of 117, pre-Katrina--that have reopened

"5 Contestants, of 6 million in three major pools, who correctly chose the Final Four in the NCAA basketball tournament

"26 Years since the Final Four last had no top-seeded teams

"8.1% Government-mandated improvement in fuel efficiency for new SUVs from 2008 to '11

"10.7 billion gal. Expected total fuel savings over the life of vehicles in those model years--less than the U.S. now uses in one month

Commentary:

1. China is an economic force to be reckoned with.

2. New Orleans doesn't need many schoolbuses these days.

3. I don't follow basketball, but did root for George Mason University.

4. We need to save a lot more than 10.7 billion gallons of gasoline if we're ever going to get away from our dependence on foreign oil.