Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cornell!rochester!rocksanne!helium!eschbach
From: eschbach@helium.uucp (Reiner Eschbach)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Re: Discovery - UFO Close Encounter?
Message-ID: <710@rocksanne.UUCP>
Date: 4 Apr 89 15:35:45 GMT
References: <4440@drivax.UUCP> <7751@pyr.gatech.EDU> <355@cbnewsl.ATT.COM> <7767@pyr.gatech.EDU> <707@rocksanne.UUCP> <7803@pyr.gatech.EDU> <3137@bd.sei.cmu.edu>
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Reply-To: eschbach@helium.UUCP (Reiner Eschbach)
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In article <3137@bd.sei.cmu.edu> Robert Firth writes:
>In fact, Western Europe has a population density more than twice that
>of the US (approx 300 million in 2 million sq miles, versus 240 million
>in 3.6 million sq miles).

This numbers contradict what I had posted before, and I think we both made
some mistakes because we assumed things we shouldn't assume.

Wetsern Europe has in fact 300 million people if you add the countries
Robert mentions. My almanach, however, gives me a differnt size: 814,000
square miles, less than 50% of Robert's number, givind a population density of
roughly 5 times that of the US. The only explanation I have, is that Rob's
square miles include the Soviet Union which, as far as I remember (don't bet
on it), is half or more of total Europe. This is actually also the mistake I 
constantly make: whenever I say Europe, I actually only refer to the Benelux,
UK, France, FRG, etc. and omit Poland, Albania (sp?) etc.! So please everybody
substitute Western Europe wherever I said Europe.

As to the roads, I share Rob's unease about the definition of 'long distance
road' but I was not able to find data myself. In waterways I doubt ( no data )
that the US is denser, because 'Wester' Europe has a lot of natural waterways
and is in general close to water, whereas the US has a huge land area far 
removed from water. But, it's just a guess.

Reiner