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From: CSvax:Pucc-H:ab3@pur-ee.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.space
Subject: Re: Does space relieve crowding?
Message-ID: <295@pucc-h>
Date: Tue, 20-Sep-83 13:16:07 EDT
Article-I.D.: pucc-h.295
Posted: Tue Sep 20 13:16:07 1983
Date-Received: Wed, 21-Sep-83 06:56:13 EDT
Organization: Purdue University Computing Center
Lines: 25

Quoting here:

	From: keithl@tekcad
	Subject: Does space relieve crowding?
	
	"Overpopulation"; an interesting word.
	   Per inhabitant (assumed pop. 5E9), the Earth has
		30,000 square meters of land
		72,000 square meters of ocean
		25,000,000 watts solar irradiance
		70 tons of "alive" matter  (including almost 1 billion insects!)
		2,000 tons of biosphere
	        1,000,000 tons of atmosphere
		300,000,000 tons of ocean

I wonder about these statistics; not that I disupte their validity; but
I think the interpretation needs to be qualified. If I enjoy 3e4 square meters
of land which happends to be on top Mount Kilamanjaro, I probably won't enjoy
it very much... I see your basic point, but I think that w/o assuming great
strides in terraforming and energy technology we are going to be running
out of land, energy, water, etc... by and by.

				Darth Wombat

			Doing my part to combat those 1 billion insects!