April 22, 2015, marks the 45th anniversary of Earth Day ― a day intended to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth’s natural environment. The day came from reaction to a massive oil spill in waters near Santa Barbara, Calif., in 1969. In honor of Earth Day ― and Earth Week (April 16-22) ― this edition of Profile America Facts for Features includes examples of Census Bureau statistics pertaining to energy and the environment.

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$9.8 billion

Revenues in 2012 for electric power generation industries that use renewable energy resources, such as hydro, wind, geothermal, biomass, solar and other electric power generation. This figure is up 49.0 percent from $6.6 billion in 2007.

697

The number of wind, geothermal, biomass, solar and other electric power generation business establishments in 2012, up from 312 in 2007.

5,456

The number of employees in wind electric power generation, the most among the industries using renewable energy in 2012.

$5 billion

Revenues for the wind electric power generation industry in 2012, the highest among the industries using renewable energy resources. Hydroelectric power generation followed with revenues of $2.4 billion. Geothermal electric power generation had revenues of just under $1 billion ($995.4 million), followed by biomass electric power generation, with $934.6 million in revenues, solar electric power generation, with $472.4 million, and other electric power generation, with $59.0 million.

Source: 2012 Economic Census
<//www.census.gov/newsroom/archives/2014-pr/cb14-204.html>

2.4 million

Estimated number of occupied housing units across the country heated by wood in 2013, which is 2.1 percent of all homes.

50,235

Estimated number of occupied housing units across the country totally heated by solar energy in 2013.

56.8 million

Estimated number of occupied housing units across the country heated by utility gas in 2013, which is 49.1 percent of all homes.

Source: 2009-2013 American Community Survey five-year estimates, Table B25040.
<//factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/13_5YR/B25040>

91%

Estimated percent of newly built single-family homes across the country with air-conditioning in 2013.

Source: 2013 Characteristics of New Housing
<//www.census.gov/construction/chars/highlights.html>
Presence of Air-Conditioning in New Single-Family Houses Completed
<//www.census.gov/construction/chars/pdf/aircond.pdf>

25.8 minutes

Estimated average time for workers age 16 and older across the country spent getting to work in 2013, up from 25.7 minutes in 2012 and 25.5 minutes in 2011.

32.5 and 32.1 minutes

Estimated average time for workers age 16 and older in Maryland and New York spent getting to work in 2013, the longest commute time in the nation. (The two times are not statistically different.) Maryland’s time is up from 31.8 minutes in 2012.

17.9

Estimated average time workers age 16 and older in North Dakota and Wyoming spent getting to work in 2013, the shortest one-way commute times in the nation.

882,198

Estimated number of people who rode a bicycle to work in 2013. This comes out to about 0.6 percent of the American workforce.

4,000,459

Estimated number of people who walked to work in 2013. This comes out to about 2.8 percent of the American workforce.

Source: 2013 American Community Survey
<//factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/13_1YR/DP03/0100000US|0400000US24|0400000US36>

53,515

Number of workers employed in forestry and logging (NAICS 113) across the U.S. in 2012, up from 53,034 in 2011. They had an average annual salary of $39,616, up from $37,986 in 2011.
Source: 2012 County Business Patterns <//www.census.gov/econ/cbp>

52,906

Number of workers employed in nuclear electric power generation (NAICS 221113) across the U.S. in 2012.
<//factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ECN/2012_US/00A1//naics~221113>

82.3%​

Increase in the number of nuclear electric power generation (NAICS 221113) establishments across the U.S. in 2012, from 79 establishments in 2007 to 144 establishments in 2012.
<//factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ECN/2012_US/22I2/0100000US/naics~ALL-22>

$950.0 million

Increase in revenue by nuclear electric power generation (NAICS 221113) establishments, from $29.0 billion in 2007 to $29.9 billion in 2012.
<//factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ECN/2012_US/22I2/0100000US/naics~ALL-22>

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2012 Economic Census and 2007 Economic Census

18,817 trillion Btu

The energy consumption in the U.S. manufacturing sector in 2010, down 17 percent from the 22,576 trillion Btu (British thermal units) consumed in 2002.

-32%

The drop in the consumption of coal in the U.S. manufacturing sector from 2002 to 2010, going from 1,956 trillion Btu in 2002 down to 1,328 trillion Btu consumed in 2010.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2010 Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey
<//www.eia.gov/consumption/manufacturing/index.cfm>

2,598 square feet

The average size of a single-family home completed in 2013; 59,000 had two or fewer bedrooms and 251,000 had four bedrooms or more.

$324,500

The average sales price of a new single-family home sold in 2013. In 2012, the average sales price of a single-family home sold was $292,200.

10,000

The number of multifamily buildings built across the U.S. in 2013. Of these, 6,000 used electricity as the primary heating fuel.

Source: 2013 Characteristics of New Housing
<//www.census.gov/construction/chars/highlights.html>

19.8%

Increase in the number of recyclable material merchant wholesalers (NAICS 423930) establishments across the U.S. in 2012, from 7,377 establishments in 2007 to 8,838 establishments in 2012.
<//factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ECN/2012_US/42I2/0100000US/naics~423930>

116,229

Number of employees working for recyclable material merchant wholesalers (NAICS 423930) in 2012, up 11.0 percent from 104,671 employees in 2007.
<//factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ECN/2012_US/42I2/0100000US/naics~423930>

$93.5 billion

Sales for recyclable material merchant wholesalers (NAICS 423930) in 2012, up 16.7 percent from $80.1 billion in 2007. 2012 sales for recyclable paper and paperboard products: $9.8 billion. 2012 sales for recyclable plastics products: $2.3 billion.  2012 sales for recyclable glass products: $0.6 billion.
<//factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ECN/2012_US/42I2/0100000US/naics~423930>
<//factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ECN/2012_US/42I3//naics~423930>

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2012 Economic Census and 2007 Economic Census

$8.4 billion

Product shipments value for recycled paperboard in 2013.
<//factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ASM/2013/31VS101/0100000US/prodsvc~3221307>

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2013 Annual Survey of Manufactures

$1.5 billion

Estimated revenue for “waste collection – hazardous waste management collection services” in 2013 for estimated sources of revenue for U.S. employer firms. This was up 16.4 percent from 2012.

$6.6 billion

Estimated revenue for “waste treatment and disposal – hazardous waste treatment and disposal services” in 2013 for estimated sources of revenue for U.S. employer firms. This was up 5.6 percent from 2012.

$12.9 billion

Estimated revenue for “local, fixed-route passenger transportation, by road and transit rail” in 2013 for estimated sources of revenue for employer firms. This is up 5.2 percent from 2012.

Source: 2013 Service Annual Survey, Table 4 <//www.census.gov/services>