There’s something mesmerizing about watching numbers move. Case in point: The Cascadia Scorecard counter, just posted on Sightline’s website, which tallies in real time how the Northwest is doing on six key trends in 2005.

The counts include:

  • Energy consumed, moving fastest at the equivalent of 14.6 gallons per person of gasoline a week.
  • Toxics released, more than 200 pounds every minute.
  • Increase in average lifespan—about nine minutes an hour—which has been ticking steadily upward from 47 years at the beginning of the 20th century.

We’ve been discussing other meaningful real-time tallies we could do, such as acres of Northwest forests certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, or share of the region’s population that live in compact communities. Please share any ideas you have on counting what counts.

6/7 update: Changed energy figure (was just gasoline first time around).