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"Discovery Files" Features from the National Science Foundation
"Gas-tronomical"
Fully produced report in MP3 format:
48 kbps |
96 kbps
(75 seconds)
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READER SCRIPT
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HIGHER PRICES, AT THE PLUMP... THE "DISCOVERY FILES": NEW ADVANCES IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, FROM THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION. WE'VE HEARD OF THE NEGATIVE HEALTH EFFECTS OF AN INCREASINGLY OVERWEIGHT AMERICA; WE'RE, ON AVERAGE, 24 POUNDS HEAVIER THAN WE WERE IN 19-60. DID YOU EVER WONDER WHAT EFFECT CARRYING ALL THAT BULK HAS ON GAS CONSUMPTION? YEAH, MORE FILL-UPS AT THE TABLE MEAN MORE FILL-UPS AT THE PUMP. THE NUMBERS WERE CRUNCHED FROM PUBLICLY AVAILABLE RECORDS ON U-S WEIGHT GAIN, BY COMPUTER SCIENTISTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS, URBANA-CHAMPAIGN, AND VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY. THE RESEARCHERS CAME UP WITH A RATHER-HEFTY CONCLUSION: FOR EACH EXTRA POUND OF BODY WEIGHT IN ALL CARS ON THE ROAD TODAY, WE USE 39-MILLION GALLONS OF ADDITIONAL GAS EACH YEAR. MULTIPLY THAT BY THE 24 EXTRA POUNDS WE'VE PUT ON, AND IT COMES TO NEARLY ONE-BILLION GALLONS OF GAS EACH YEAR--JUST BECAUSE OF OUR COLLECTIVE WEIGHT GAIN--SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT WHILE YOU'RE IN LINE AT THE FAST-FOOD DRIVE-THRU. THE "DISCOVERY FILES" COVERS PROJECTS FUNDED BY THE GOVERNMENT'S NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH BROUGHT TO YOU BY YOU! LEARN MORE AT "N-S-F"-DOT-GOV--OR ON THEIR PODCAST.
For additional "Discovery Files" features from the National Science Foundation, click here.
