Monday, April 2, 2012

The Texas drought by the numbers


A good article on the front page of The Dallas Morning News today - - Facing the fallout.  The article highlights the toll on Texas trees and the losses caused by last summer's historic drought in Texas.

The statistics of the drought include the following:
  • Crop and livestock losses are at $7.62 billion.  Damaged trees are expected to continue to die - - increasing the economic damage for years to come.
  • The Texas Forest Service estimates between 100 million and 500 million forest trees may have succumb to the drought (This would be a good Google interview question - - How would you estimate the total number of trees in Texas?).
  • In urban areas, it is estimated that 5.6 million or more trees were killed (I lost nine at my house in Southlake).
  • It will cost $560 million to remove all the dead urban trees - - roughly $100 to remove a tree eight inches in diameter.  Invest in companies that make chainsaws.
  • Texas cities stand to lose $280 million a year in economic and environmental benefits.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.