And here is a round-up of this week’s Green numbers…

1. Infographic of the Day: Do Americans Pay Too Little for Gas?

   Even with prices at the pump hovering around $3.50, that’s a fraction of the prices in other rich countries

   Every year without fail, as the days get longer and warmer, gas prices begin to shoot up. Throw in intense turmoil in the Middle East, and the annual price skyrocket and accompanying fretting began even earlier this year. But while gas prices have risen to more than $3 a gallon in the United States, remember that gas here is still cheaper than many places–especially developed nations–around the world.

   This infographic from Flowing Data shows where–according to gas price tables on Wikipedia–people are paying more… read on

2. China battery plant poisons more than 100 villagers

   Lead emissions from a battery plant in eastern China have poisoned more than 100 villagers, including 35 children, state news agency Xinhua reported on Friday, the latest in a string of heavy metal pollution cases in the country.

   A total of 139 villagers in a village near Taizhou city in coastal Zhejiang province have been found to have elevated lead levels in their blood, Xinhua cited the provincial health department as saying in a statement.

   Three of the adults had lead in their blood more than… read on

3. Philips AmbientLED 12.5 Watts LED Lightbulb (Product Review)

   The Philips AmbientLED 12.5-watt A19 LED lightbulb (quite a name!) is probably the favorite LED bulb that I’ve tried so far. It beats the competition when it comes to light output (800 lumens vs. 450-590 lumens for the other LEDs that I’ve tried), the design of the bulb is very innovative, and light quality is excellent.

   Read on for my full review and more technical specs on the Philips AmbientLED…. read on

4. Obama administration announces massive coal mining expansion

   Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced yesterday an enormous expansion in coal mining that threatens to increase U.S. climate pollution by an amount equivalent to more than half of what the United States currently emits in a year. A statement from Wild Earth Guardians, Sierra Club, and Defenders of Wildlife put the announcement in perspective:

   When burned, the coal threatens to release more than 3.9 billion tons of heat-trapping carbon dioxide, equal to the annual emissions from 300 coal-fired power plants, further cementing the United States as a leading contributor to…. read on

5. The triumph of coal marketing

   Do you have an opinion about nuclear power? About the relative safety of one form of power over another? How did you come to this opinion?

   For every person killed by nuclear power generation, 4,000 die due to coal, adjusted for the same amount of power produced… read on

6. King Crabs Invade Antarctica for First Time in 40 Million Years

   King crabs haven’t historically caroused in Antarctic waters — it’s simply been too cold for the famed crustaceans. But warming waters have allowed crusading crabs to march further south than they have in millions of years. Which is bad news for the diverse sea life currently thriving in the underwater habitats around the Antarctic peninsula: Seeing as how they’ve been living in a crab-less environment for 40 million years, scientists now fear that Antarctic animals like brittle sea stars, mussels, and sponges will be sitting ducks for the marauding king crabs… read on

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Photo credit house of bamboo