How much do traffic lights cost?

Traffic lights have different prices depending on the manufacturer, but in Spain the average price is 1,000 €. This price is for an LED traffic light, which is 10 times more expensive than traditional halogen bulbs, but LEDs are cost-effective in the long run because of its lower energy consumption.
At present, there are about 300,000 traffic lights in Spain with an annual energy consumption of 350 gigawatts, equivalent to the energy consumption of 150,000 households. LED traffic lights are estimated to consume 80% less energy, so former bulbs are being gradually replaced in most Spanish towns.
However, there is an even cheaper alternative to direct traffic: in the Basque town of Amorebieta-Etxano, a new experiment is being tested, and it seems to work out fine: getting rid of all kinds of traffic lights.

Sources:

1. http://www.3cat24.cat/noticia/405426
2. http://www.consumer.es/web/es/medio_ambiente/2007/07/24/165309.php 
3. http://www.elpunt.cat/noticia/article/1-territori/10-administracions/173447-tants-caps-tants-llums.html
4. http://www.deia.com/2010/05/04/bizkaia/duranguesado/un-pueblo-tranquilo-sin-semaforos

Book price in Spain

Unlike other products, the percentage of the published price corresponding to each agent in the book industry is quite stable:
The author gets 10% of the published price for each book sold, regardless of how many books are published. This percentage may be increased up to 12% for best-selling writers to remain in the same the publishing house or when the literary agents exert some pressure. In the case of paperback books, the author gets 5% of the published price.
The publishing house gets 40%, but actual profits are less than 10% because this percentage includes such expenses as paper, printing, translation, correction, editing, staff at the publishing house, storage, transport, advertising, contract management…
The distributor in charge of storing book stocks and delivering them to bookstores gets around 20%, which may be reduced to 10% depending on the agreements with each bookstore. However, the distributor’s profit margin is the highest.
And last but not least, the bookstore gets 30%, which may be increased up to 40% depending on the agreements with each distributor. Bookstores have to pay for the premises and the staff, plus the book price when it is not on deposit. Moreover, bookstores are allowed to offer 5% discount to the customers, which is the legal maximum in Spain. However, customers can get 8% or even 10% discount thanks loyalty cards or other promotions, which are a loophole.
In Spain, book prices are fixed and neither bookstores nor web pages can sell them cheaper or more expensive, except for the authorised 5% discount. Thanks to this measure, the Spanish book industry can count on many small and medium-size bookshops and publishing houses, which can coexist with large bookstores and leading publishing groups without being vanished in price wars.

Appeals for action by Amnesty International

In Spain, if a citizen writes a letter to some authority, administration or political representative to denounce or complain about some facts, it is considered to be a waste of time and an oddity typical of retired or idle people. At most, it is considered to be the last resource of a desperate citizen. But in other countries, it is quite usual and part of the political activity of common people. For instance, in English-speaking countries, citizens can choose their political representatives and they can have some kind of control on their actions and Parliament votes, so writing letters to them is quite normal.
Despite not being so usual in the rest of the world, it is true that most letters are read and, very often, they are answered and taken into account. Amnesty International has a long-running programme of urgent actions by which thousands of volunteers from all around the world write letters to governments of any country, claiming for some response in concrete acts, like the imprisonment of human rights activists, the clearance of slums without prior notice, cases of people tortured or missing, etc. People who join this network receive, as often as they like, short reports of concrete cases with all the necessary information to write a complaint letter to their local authorities. These reports include all necessary data to understand what’s going on, what should be claimed to political representatives, where to send these letters, faxes or e-mails, and even how to address each authority (Your Excellency, Dear Sir, Dear Madam…). Once the letter has been sent, the case can be monitored.
But, does it really work? Yes, it does. Amnesty International estimates that one third of these cases improve thanks to this pressure.
If you do not have the time to write these letters, you can always devote a couple of minutes to introduce your particulars in a cyber action, by which Amnesty International does not send personalised letters but a signature collection.
Needless to say, you can also write a letter to any authority for any reason, following your own conscience.  

Sources: 

1. http://www.amnesty.org/
2. http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ACT10/001/2003/en/b91d12e1-d718-11dd-b0cc-1f0860013475/act100012003en.html
3. http://www.amnesty.org/en/how-you-can-help