Introduction of a New Currency Unit The Rumsfeld. (February 18, 2007)

    During this week's meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Eli Kintisch on 17 February posted the following item on Science's Blogsite:

20 microrumsfelds

Geologist Kerry Sieh introduced a new unit of measure yesterday during a widely talked-about speech on earthquake preparedness.

1 rumsfeld, he explained, equals US$100 billion (A$127 billion) per year, roughly what the US has spent on average per year during the four-year Iraq war.

Roughly $2 million -- or 20 microrumsfelds -- has been spent in recent years on preparing infrastructure to withstand earthquakes for the roughly half a billion people who reside between Iran and Sumatra and live in grave danger of earthquakes. Sieh, of Caltech, says he's being generous on that total, and just a few "fractions of a rumsfeld" spent by the US each year could spread much good cheer for American foreign policy. "For heaven's sake, let's think about our priorities here," he told me today.

Newsblog provides below some additional U.S. government sustainability expenditures in rumsfelds:

Proposed 2008 US spending on applied solar energy research ($148 million) = 1.48 millirumsfelds

Proposed 2008 US spending on nuclear nonproliferation ($1.67 billion) = about 2 centirumsfelds 

Total 2004 developed nations aid to developing countries (about $25 billion) = a quarter-rumsfeld

Amount per year, according to the United Nations, some 1.1 billion people earn ($730) = $7.3 nanorumsfelds 

and, in case you're wondering
 

Average National Science Foundation grant size ($150,000 per year) = 1.5 microrumsfeld

And just for the record the the purchasing power parity of Australia's GDP for 2006 is estimated at US$666.3 billion,  i.e. 6.7 rumsfelds.