So, the world as we know it has now got 7 billion people living in it.
Actually, the world as I know it is much smaller. And much less populated.
We, in my small corner of the world, complain repeatedly and wistfully, about the new developments going up and the increasing number of people who keep moving in on our patch of paradise and changing it forever.
But in reality, it is nothing compared to so many other places in the world. Places like Shenzhen, China where the population has risen from around 352,000 to 10,358,000 in the last 30 years. 10 million people have moved into that area in three decades! There is only 13 million people in all of Ontario, give or take a few thousand and though most of them live in the southern bit and many in the Golden Horseshoe where I live, it really does not feel all that crowded. Even with all the new condos going up everywhere (apparently Toronto is the king of condo builders in North America) we still have space around us and apparently "places to grow".
taken while stuck in traffic exiting at the single lane Spadina off ramp of the expressway into the entertainment district.
I love that Douglas Coupland canoe looking out over the Gardiner and towards the lake from where once a river flowed...
On a website, which you can find here, you can place yourself in amongst these 7 billion people inhabiting our world. According to my birthdate, I rank as the 2,913,260,663 person alive on my birthdate and the 76,452,309,015th person to have lived since history began.
It's amazing how fast the population is increasing. But it's not just the space we take up, it's also the resources we need to be concerned about. There's no way all 7 billion people can live like most Canadians. But most of the rest of the world will aspire to. And who's to say WE can and THEY cannot? Just saying.
ReplyDeleteI agree about the resources. I thought about adding that to this post, but it could be a separate issue on its own.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, one hears about people travelling to places where there is very little and yet meeting so many who are happy and willing to share. I hope most of the rest of the world doesn't try to live like us.
It's worrying how fast the world population is growing and yet we all want the right to reproduce.
ReplyDeleteI am sure there are a few in some conditions who would be glad to not reproduce.
ReplyDeleteCool!
ReplyDeleteWhen you were born, you were the:
3,094,034,431st
person alive on Earth
76,796,730,022nd
person to have lived since history began
Well, I've done my part to curb world population, I didn't reproduce. The thought of Mini-Me running around in two or three copies just didn't do anything for me...
congratulations! I've done my part, too!
ReplyDeleteWhen you were born, you were the:
ReplyDelete3,167,321,566th
person alive on earth
76,935,904,208th
person to have lived since history began
I reproduced, but was committed to the zero population growth idea before I started, so my ex and I had just the two.
Yes, it's all the resources that we need for all those people that's going to be the problem. The average person is going to want a car and a TV set and a refrigerator. And enough food to eat. There may be a shortage of that now that we are also using food for bio-fuel. It's quite a puzzle.
ReplyDeleteSAW: Two is a good number. Being an only child can be lonely and a burden.
ReplyDeleteNora: ...and water. That will surpass oil as the most needed resource soon enough.
It boggles the mind that there are so many people in this world. And many of these are hungry and living in poverty!! So sad!
ReplyDeleteHugs
SueAnn
The reality is that we have to stop further population growth. Otherwise, when resources are in short supply, we will fight wars for it until the population is reduced in a horrible way. This has been an interesting post.
ReplyDeleteCanada's teeny population is kind of ajoke compared with teeming Asia. On a documentary the other night that was considering the number of practicing Christians in China. There are 10 million more of them than there are people in Canada.
ReplyDeleteWell as I've said before, my daughter is the only child of five parents, so we're doing our part. I think we can sort of get used to people as long as resources are available. I never felt crowded in New York, even when I did the New Year's Eve in the 70's. When they announced at the ballpark two weeks ago that there were 51,000 people there, I remember thinking really? It didn't seem like it. But I think it is all about resources.
ReplyDeleteSueAnn: and LGS: extreme poverty and deprivation of basic needs can lead to desperate actions. most of it no good for anyone.
ReplyDeletemrwriteon: those kind of statistic always amaze me sometimes I think we live in a bubble.
geewits: strangely, I didn't think NYC was all that crowded when I've been there either. I do wonder about some of those calculations, though.
There are apparently, enough resources, and especially food, for us all to eat comfortably, if it was evened out, and the West didn't eat as much as they do.
ReplyDeleteI saw some statistics the other day about how much good food is thrown away each day in the US. It horrified me.
The world is amazing. It blows me away it can absorb the numbers. Marvelous photo!
ReplyDeleteI am not that good with numbers. 7 billion is a lot of people.
ReplyDelete