Overpopulation? I don't think so.
Check the number and dial again...
Are you one of the poor saps who's been suckered into believing that the world is overpopulated? I've heard otherwise, but I thought it would be prudent to check the actual numbers:
The US Census Bureau online population clock projected a total world population of 6,668,899,037 people when I checked it earlier today. Also according to the census bureau, at our current “alarming” rate of population growth, the total world population will pass 9 billion in less than forty years.
We've been trained to be terrified by this, but is it really terrifying?
Putting these global population numbers in perspective is relatively easy. Let's imagine, for a moment, that the entire surface area of the planet is reduced to the surface area of a single state. In this exercise, we must cram every human being on the planet into that single state. I'm choosing Texas because of its relatively large size.
According to Wikipedia, the surface area of Texas is 268,820 square miles, with 2.5 percent covered in water. Adjusting for water coverage, that gives us approximately 262,099.5 square miles of dry land to work with.
Square miles are nice, but as a unit they are too large for me to keep in my head all at once. So let's try square feet. Given that Texas contains 262,099.5 square miles of dry land, and there are 5,280 feet per mile, simple conversion (262099.5 X 5280 X 5280) gives us 7.3069147e12 square feet.
Simple division (7.3069147e12 / 6668899037) then reveals that Texas contains 1,096 square feet for every human being on the planet. One thousand ninty-six square feet for every single human being alive today!
To put that in perspective, the average home built in the United States in 2004 contains 2,330 square feet. Assuming half of that is a second story, the average house will only consume 1,165 square feet of surface area on the ground.
Which means that even if every single person alive were “crammed” into Texas, the average four-person family could settle down in an average-sized house and have approximately 3,219 square feet left over for a pool, swingset, and anything else they wanted.
So, if every single human being on Earth could live quite comfortably in the state of Texas, how large would the world's population be before we really did start running out of space?
Even given the “relatively large” size of Texas, its 262,099.5 square miles of land only take up a nearly insignificant 0.47% of Earth's 57,506,055.5 square miles of land. Thus, the total world population could grow up to a theoretical maximum of 1.4266129e12 people before we'd truly be running out of space. That's One Trillion Four Hundred Twenty-Six Billion people, folks.
And that's assuming that we don't figure a practical and ecologically-friendly way to live on or under the surface of the water. (After all, the ocean takes up more than 70% of the Earth's surface, so we could fit a lot more people on this planet if we needed to.) I think it'd be cool to live in a city at the bottom of the ocean, but maybe that's just me.
Of course, we'd start running into other serious resource-related problems long before that point. But given the centuries that it will take us to even start approaching those numbers, I'm confident that we will have discovered far more resource-efficient ways to live our lives by then. Realistically, by that point, we could even have begun to colonize other planets too, which would solve the “overcrowding” problem once and for all.
ttyl!
--Alex
Comments
O_O
Whoa.
I knew that we could fit the entire population into the state of Texas but I didn't know that they'd still have living space. Thanks for those numbers Malex.
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"He speaks of Meow."
"Just feed the cat."
Romance is like gasoline vapors; get enough of it in the air and a single spark can cause it to explode in flames.
Haha!
City under the ocean maybe, colonize other planets? 0.0 I refuse.
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Yeah, that just gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling inside like the world is crushing down on my head. Thanks.
"I'm out of my sticky notepads of death!"- Inuyasha
What a relief
Whew! I'm glad that's settled. Seriously, thank you, Malex, for running those numbers. I just get so tired of hearing doomsday predictions. Creating a false crisis is a good way to herd people. Remember, repetition is NOT proof. So whether the issue is pollution, overpopulation, global warming, the economy or the scarcity of water, ALWAYS QUESTION WHAT YOU'RE BEING TOLD.
Repeat after me...."Prove it!"
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I get up, I walk, I fall down. Meanwhile, I keep dancing. - Hillel
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Fairy tales are more than true — not because they tell us dragons exist, but because they tell us dragons can be beaten. - G. K. Chesterton
oh yeah
I had a really awful science teacher in 8th grade who started each class with all the ways the earth is going to die tomorrow. Like we're way over due for a meteor strike and theres a giant volcano that should have blown u three years ago and when it goes we're all gonna die.
Of course when I said Maybe God is holding all that stuff back he looked at me like i was the biggest idiot ever.
I hate public school. >=(
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Yeah, that just gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling inside like the world is crushing down on my head. Thanks.
"I'm out of my sticky notepads of death!"- Inuyasha
What's up?
My 8th grade science teacher believed that life on Earth had been "seeded" by alien intelligence, and told the class that a scientist had once created life in a jar!
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I get up, I walk, I fall down. Meanwhile, I keep dancing. - Hillel
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Fairy tales are more than true — not because they tell us dragons exist, but because they tell us dragons can be beaten. - G. K. Chesterton
Ha!
I'd like to see that!
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Yeah, that just gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling inside like the world is crushing down on my head. Thanks.
"I'm out of my sticky notepads of death!"- Inuyasha
...Aliens...
Why are aliens easier to believe in than God?
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"He speaks of Meow."
"Just feed the cat."
Romance is like gasoline vapors; get enough of it in the air and a single spark can cause it to explode in flames.
I think its because...
Even though God's pressence and creation surrounds us every day, the aliens that people make up can be drawn and made up to seem "soo real"(not).
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I ain't not gonna do it! Wait... I guess I am.
Sorrow looks back and worry looks around, but faith looks up!
Yeah
That, and they don’t have to bow down to aliens.
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“... But as for me, I trust in [God.]” -Psalm 55:23
With contentment comes passion to make the best of opportunity.
Amen
I think you've nailed it, Quartz. After all, we can convince ourselves that aliens are like us and therefore NOT objects of worship. We can create our "creators" in our own image and not owe them anything!
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I get up, I walk, I fall down. Meanwhile, I keep dancing. - Hillel
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Fairy tales are more than true — not because they tell us dragons exist, but because they tell us dragons can be beaten. - G. K. Chesterton
Sad thing is though I can
Sad thing is though I can see people standing in front of God to give their account and saying "but I didn't believe you existed." and expecting Him to not punish them.
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Yeah, that just gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling inside like the world is crushing down on my head. Thanks.
"I'm out of my sticky notepads of death!"- Inuyasha
Yeah
But I think God will then make it very clear to them exactly what their mistake was, before He punishes them. In Matthew 25:44-46 during one of Jesus’ descriptions of conversations between God and the accused on Judgement Day, God answers their questions about the decision.
I get the impression there will be no more questions in their mind before they’re done talking.
Just kinda interesting to speculate about.
Although it is kinda horrible to think too much about what it will be like for sinners on Judgement Day. 
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“... But as for me, I trust in [God.]” -Psalm 55:23
With contentment comes passion to make the best of opportunity.
back to the overpopulation "problem"
*cries for the chinese baby girls*
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Slushy's words of wisdom:
I have been trained to read your mind... *reads your mind* oh, wait that's mine...woah this is embarrassing...<_< >_> *stands very still in hopes you wont see me*
"...Fascinated by my fascination with such things that are irrelevant to life..."
*whimper*
*joins Slushy*
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"He speaks of Meow."
"Just feed the cat."
Romance is like gasoline vapors; get enough of it in the air and a single spark can cause it to explode in flames.
America's holocaust
Since the legalization of abortion in 1973, 1.5 million babies have been murdered every year in this country. That's more than 50 million people, of both genders.
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I get up, I walk, I fall down. Meanwhile, I keep dancing. - Hillel
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Fairy tales are more than true — not because they tell us dragons exist, but because they tell us dragons can be beaten. - G. K. Chesterton
christian school
A girl at my school had an abortion last year. I felt so sick when I found out.
One of the problems I have with America today is that we seem to sterilize death. Well... not sterilize it but there are so many movies where people are getting hacked to pieces or hundreds or people die. Or I'll watch games where the goal is to kill a bunch of people (mostly I have a problem with WW1 and WW2 games where you're supposed to be in the war.) I think there's a problem when you can watch someone die or hear about it and not feel sick. I also don't like turning deaths into statistics. You can put out the number of the people killed during the holocaust but then it only becomes a number, not lives.
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Yeah, that just gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling inside like the world is crushing down on my head. Thanks.
"I'm out of my sticky notepads of death!"- Inuyasha
Desensitization
"Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron,"
-1 Timothy 4:1,2-
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"He speaks of Meow."
"Just feed the cat."
Romance is like gasoline vapors; get enough of it in the air and a single spark can cause it to explode in flames.
Absolutely
I agree with Lilly. I also think that a lot of those games train people to kill by having them practice doing it! How did you hear about the girl having the abortion? Be careful of gossip. Poor girl!
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I get up, I walk, I fall down. Meanwhile, I keep dancing. - Hillel
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Fairy tales are more than true — not because they tell us dragons exist, but because they tell us dragons can be beaten. - G. K. Chesterton
on accident
I walked into the bathroom and saw her sitting there with a friend crying. I kind of evesdropped into the conversation...
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Yeah, that just gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling inside like the world is crushing down on my head. Thanks.
"I'm out of my sticky notepads of death!"- Inuyasha
Sadness
Poor girl. Her pain is just beginning. I will pray for her.
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I get up, I walk, I fall down. Meanwhile, I keep dancing. - Hillel
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Fairy tales are more than true — not because they tell us dragons exist, but because they tell us dragons can be beaten. - G. K. Chesterton
yeah
I think she really needs it.
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Yeah, that just gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling inside like the world is crushing down on my head. Thanks.
"I'm out of my sticky notepads of death!"- Inuyasha
Sorry, but...
"I also think that a lot of those games train people to kill by having them practice doing it!" - SangMing
I've got to disagree there (well, except for some games like GTA). Instead of those games being "practice", I find them more of being...venting your anger
.
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"I'm so hungry, I could eat at Arby's!"
"If I can keep down Arby's, I can keep down you!"
"Lisa, people do lots of crazy things in commercials...like eat at Arby's!"
- Th
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I need a siggy...
Oh wait.
Comment-
Even if it's not 'training to kill' per se, it definately desensitizes. In large part due to video games like that, the American public is so used to these things that they don't even really get shocked when they hear something horrible on the news. It's sad.
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Good Lord, Lawrence! Why are you slapping a monkey?!
-Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of these United States (Night at the Museum)
Cats are just better than dogs. Period. Think about it: get a dog the size of a cat and the cat will win. Get a cat the size of a dog and you're into the small cougar range ... and the cat will win!
~Chris and Cliff of "The Jesus Geeks Podcast"
Yeah
It seems to make sense to me.
There was a time when I was very dissatisfied with my own lack of control over my emotions like anger and frustration. I’ve found that “venting” these emotions only worsened the problem, while “swallowing” them by forgetting them and moving on was what eventually pulled me out of it.
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“... But as for me, I trust in [God.]” -Psalm 55:23
With contentment comes passion to make the best of opportunity.
exactly Qz ^_^
I've actually heard a statistic that people who used creative "venting" techniques (ie. video games, punching bags, etc...) were more likely to long-term anger problems. I think that it's because then they have an easy way out of actually having to cope with their own feelings.
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Good Lord, Lawrence! Why are you slapping a monkey?!
-Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of these United States (Night at the Museum)
Cats are just better than dogs. Period. Think about it: get a dog the size of a cat and the cat will win. Get a cat the size of a dog and you're into the small cougar range ... and the cat will win!
~Chris and Cliff of "The Jesus Geeks Podcast"
while “swallowing” them
while “swallowing” them by forgetting them and moving on was what eventually pulled me out of it.
Just make sure you're not repressing anything, and I hope that's not what you meant you're doing. Repressing stuff can lead to serious problems, even if it seems to help for a bit. The best way it seems to deal with stuff is neither venting or repressing but dealing with the problems individually(talk to someone your mad at). I'm shutting up now cause I'm tired...
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Slushy's words of wisdom:
I have been trained to read your mind... *reads your mind* oh, wait that's mine...woah this is embarrassing...<_< >_> *stands very still in hopes you wont see me*
"...Fascinated by my fascination with such things that are irrelevant to life..."
Devil's advocate
people who used creative "venting" techniques...were more likely to [have] long-term anger problems
It could be argued that their long term anger problems are what led them to try using the venting techniques and that without them (the venting techniques) their anger problems might be worse. Correlation does not always prove causation.
Actually, I agree with you. I've heard that the U.S. military uses video games to help people overcome their reluctance to kill the enemy. But I'm not sure that's true.
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I get up, I walk, I fall down. Meanwhile, I keep dancing. - Hillel
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Fairy tales are more than true — not because they tell us dragons exist, but because they tell us dragons can be beaten. - G. K. Chesterton
Yeah
That’s true. What I really meant was letting go of the feelings by consciously giving them to God.
I actually wasn’t sure I wanted to use the word “swalloweing” in the first place, but I decided to anyway. Oh well.
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“... But as for me, I trust in [God.]” -Psalm 55:23
With contentment comes passion to make the best of opportunity.