The global population is expected to reach 7 billion Monday — just 12 years after hitting 6 billion — and the milestone has many pondering the complex challenges associated with billions more people on Earth in the coming years.
Some are also pondering something else: Just how big is 7 billion really?
— Seven billion seconds ago, the year was 1789. That was the year George Washington was inaugurated as the first U.S. president and Congress met for the very first time.
— If you took 7 billion steps along the Earth’s equator — at 2 feet per step — you could walk around the world at least 106 times.
— Suppose an average thimble holds 2 milliliters of water. Seven billion of those thimbles would fill at least five Olympic-sized swimming pools.
— Let’s say the average human is about 5 feet tall, accounting for children. If you stack those 7 billion people end to end, they would reach about 1/14th of the way to the sun — or 27 times the distance to the moon, Volpert said.
— Seven billion ants, at an average size of 3 milligrams each, would weigh at least 23 tons (46,297 pounds).
There always seems to be great ways to extend life, but with 217,000 new people added per day, it may not be where science should be putting it’s energy.
Even with all the examples– I still can’t fathom 7 billion. Just cant get my little pea brain to wrap around it!!
Think of it as just some of the money that Obama wants to give away…
We are totally fucked
Even with 7 billion people, if you gave each person on earth a 10’x10′ square (100sqft), they would all fit inside the state of South Carolina.
With my luck, my square would be in the swamp…
With my luck, my square would be next to Richard’s. ;-0
Why do you two get the plots with pools? Time for Occupy Okefenokee…