Big Cities and People, People, People

Imagine for a moment any of the large cities of the world.  The skyscrapers reach to the sky in the city center, or if it is like Dallas, or Houston, in multiple centers of commerce scattered over miles and miles of the terrain.  Around these islands of high-rise buildings there are usually areas of slightly shorter and older buildings that still tower high above the streets and then further out you begin to encounter apartments and condominiums and eventually other urban and suburban residential areas interspersed with shopping and other types of businesses.  Often, there are also areas of distribution or, manufacturing located on the outskirts of these sprawling achievements of man.

Now, think about the number of people concentrated in those areas.  Think of the thousands upon thousands of individuals who daily make the commute from the residential areas to the centers of business.  Think of their families -- spouses and children -- who spend each day in their own job or, in school.  Think of the transportation infrastructure and the utilities such as electricity and water and garbage and sewage disposal.  Imagine for a moment how many gallons of fuel are required for a single day of commerce to occur in that one large city.

Now, multiply that by several hundred, or thousand to account for other cities of similar composition scattered across the globe.  As of this moment, the global population is estimated at 7.6 Billion people.

The average global consumption of food on a daily basis is 1,878 grams that's approximately 4.14 lbs. per person per day.  If you multiply that by the number of people on this planet it comes to 31.464 Billion lbs. of food per day or, 15.732 Million U.S. tons.  That's a lot of food.

When you look at solid waste per person, it is estimated by the World Bank to be .74 Kilograms, or 740 grams per person per day.  That equates to 1.63 lbs. per person daily, or 12.388 Billion lbs. of solid waste daily for the total global population.  It all goes somewhere.

When you start to really look at the numbers it is easy to see why some people have entered "panic mode" about the number of people on this planet and the impact they are having on it.  For those of us who live in rural areas it is less apparent.  I frankly don't see how we are able to feed all of those people that are currently on the planet, let alone the additional ones who will be added in coming years.  The transportation demands alone to get the food from where it is produced to where it is needed is mind-boggling.

Just my thoughts this morning....