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It's theoretically possible to drive around 7 billion people in less than an hour.

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    #2
    WhatNowForUs?
    Closed Accounts Posts: 687 ✭✭✭WhatNowForUs?


    I love these scientific non-scientific studies.


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    #3
    --Kaiser--
    Registered Users Posts: 6,461 ✭✭✭--Kaiser--


    A brilliant answer to a question no one asked


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    #4
    CrazyRabbit
    Registered Users Posts: 8,659 ✭✭✭CrazyRabbit


    It would be much quicker if you drove straight through them.


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    #5
    bnt
    Registered Users Posts: 12,957 ✭✭✭✭bnt


    OK ... a square of area 7200 km² has sides of just under 85 km, and a square has four sides, so it has a perimeter of just under 340 km. Like they say, you'd need a Bugatti Veyron.

    It's a silly construct, though, since people don't just occupy space, they use resources that require much more space to produce unsustainably today, and would require even more space to produce in a sustainable manner. That's what concerns about overpopulation are about. Whether you think we're "getting by" depends on which part of the world you're looking at - but even so, can we keep on "getting by" over the long term, as populations increase and resources are depleted?

    From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say, ‘Look at that, you son of a bitch’.

    — Edgar Mitchell, Apollo 14 Astronaut



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    #6
    razorblunt
    Registered Users Posts: 17,300 ✭✭✭✭razorblunt


    I was expecting to see a ma-hoo-sive bus to drive them around in.

    Thread disappoints.


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    #7
    garv123
    Registered Users Posts: 6,576 ✭✭✭garv123


    What kinda fat feckers take up a square metre each? You could cut the distance by 2/3's or 3/4's..


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    #8
    moc moc a moc
    Registered Users Posts: 1,299 ✭✭✭moc moc a moc


    garv123 wrote: »
    What kinda fat feckers take up a square metre each?

    There are over 300 million Americans on the planet skewing the average.


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    #9
    kildara
    Registered Users Posts: 456 ✭✭kildara


    If all 7 billion people stood side-by-side from Europe to America, most of them would drown


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    #10
    WhatNowForUs?
    Closed Accounts Posts: 687 ✭✭✭WhatNowForUs?


    kildara wrote: »
    If all 7 billion people stood side-by-side from Europe to America, most of them would drown

    Where did you get that statistic from. Your just making it up arnt ya.


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    #11
    Nabber
    Registered Users Posts: 2,855 ✭✭✭Nabber


    1 person would die every 1.8 seconds, so you'd wanna be fast about it :)


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    #12
    flutterflye
    Registered Users Posts: 3,538 ✭✭✭flutterflye


    Nabber wrote: »
    1 person would die every 1.8 seconds, so you'd wanna be fast about it :)

    People are probably born at a similar rate, so it'd probably even out.


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    #13
    Pie Man
    Registered Users Posts: 348 ✭✭Pie Man


    There would be no traffic, so i'd say I could do it in 20 min.


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    #14
    Profiler
    Registered Users Posts: 1,327 ✭✭✭Profiler


    flutterflye wrote: »
    People are probably born at a similar rate, so it'd probably even out.

    If that were the case then the population of the planet would neither be falling nor increasing, however...

    There was:

    4 billion people in 1974
    5 billion people in 1987
    6 billion people in 1999
    7 billion people in 2011
    It is projected we will see the 8th billion person by 2025

    So the birth rate is clearly outstripping the death rate, quite significantly.


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    #15
    flutterflye
    Registered Users Posts: 3,538 ✭✭✭flutterflye


    Profiler wrote: »
    If that were the case then the population of the planet would neither be falling nor increasing, however...

    There was:

    4 billion people in 1974
    5 billion people in 1987
    6 billion people in 1999
    7 billion people in 2011
    It is projected we will see the 8th billion person by 2025

    So the birth rate is clearly outstripping the death rate, quite significantly.

    Well then I guess it doesn't matter so much about taking the people dying into account.

    Also, I knew that our population was increasing, but I didn't realise it was that much in only 40 years! That's mad!


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    #16
    keithsfleet
    Registered Users Posts: 1,072 ✭✭✭keithsfleet


    I'm gonna have the 8 millionth child and there's nothing you can do about it.


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    #17
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭ [Deleted User]


    It's probably theoretically possible for me to fart my way to the moon, but doesn't mean it's scientifically true.


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    #18
    spurious
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Education Moderators Posts: 27,107 CMod ✭✭✭✭spurious


    The space all the people in the world would take up used to be the size of the Isle of Wight when I was at school, so it has increased a lot.


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    #19
    newmug
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 3,571 ✭✭✭newmug


    Profiler wrote: »
    If that were the case then the population of the planet would neither be falling nor increasing, however...

    There was:

    4 billion people in 1974
    5 billion people in 1987
    6 billion people in 1999
    7 billion people in 2011
    It is projected we will see the 8th billion person by 2025

    So the birth rate is clearly outstripping the death rate, quite significantly.


    And I thought the Chinese "1 child family" policy had sorted all that out! Boy was I wrong!!!


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    #20
    Daniel2590
    Registered Users Posts: 1,645 ✭✭✭Daniel2590


    keithsfleet wrote: »
    I'm gonna have the 8 millionth child and there's nothing you can do about it.

    I'm afraid someone's beaten you to that by quite a bit.


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    #21
    TheIrishGrover
    Registered Users Posts: 5,967 ✭✭✭TheIrishGrover


    Well, if you put them into 1/m^3 cubes........ and stacked them on top of each other you'd walk around in a few seconds...... Even better


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    #22
    bnt
    Registered Users Posts: 12,957 ✭✭✭✭bnt


    newmug wrote: »
    And I thought the Chinese "1 child family" policy had sorted all that out! Boy was I wrong!!!
    Especially considering that the Chinese "1 child family" policy didn't apply in India, or Bangladesh, Nigeria or the Gaza Strip. China's population growth rate is now one of the lowest - but it's still ~ 0.5% a year.
    TheIrishGrover wrote: »
    Well, if you put them into 1/m^3 cubes........ and stacked them on top of each other you'd walk around in a few seconds...... Even better
    If you did that, only the 7-8 thousand at the bottom would be able to breath. There may be more humane ways of solving the population problem.

    How about stacking the small cubes in to a bigger cube? Then it would be more like 90 minutes at a brisk walk, to get around it. The cube would have sides of just over 1.9 km, so the perimeter would be about 7.7 km.
    (calculated assuming a total population of 7.2 billion)

    From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say, ‘Look at that, you son of a bitch’.

    — Edgar Mitchell, Apollo 14 Astronaut



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    #23
    newmug
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 3,571 ✭✭✭newmug


    bnt wrote: »
    Especially considering that the Chinese "1 child family" policy didn't apply in India, or Bangladesh, Nigeria or the Gaza Strip. China's population growth rate is now one of the lowest


    The Gaza Strip? Are they trying to out-breed their invaders?


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    #24
    bnt
    Registered Users Posts: 12,957 ✭✭✭✭bnt


    newmug wrote: »
    The Gaza Strip? Are they trying to out-breed their invaders?
    Without wishing to politicise this thread, the late Yasser Arafat was quoted as saying "we will make life unbearable for Jews by psychological warfare and population explosion", calling the wombs of Palestinian women a "biological weapon". So the short answer to the question is "yes".

    From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say, ‘Look at that, you son of a bitch’.

    — Edgar Mitchell, Apollo 14 Astronaut



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    #25
    Prof Nincom Poop Ph.D
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 146 ✭✭Prof Nincom Poop Ph.D


    newmug wrote: »
    And I thought the Chinese "1 child family" policy had sorted all that out! Boy was I wrong!!!
    bnt wrote: »
    Especially considering that the Chinese "1 child family" policy didn't apply in India, or Bangladesh, Nigeria or the Gaza Strip. China's population growth rate is now one of the lowest - but it's still ~ 0.5% a year.

    Not to mention they ended up with something like 20 million more males as everyone wanted a boy.


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    #26
    oppenheimer1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,084 ✭✭✭oppenheimer1


    bnt wrote: »
    OK ... a square of area 7200 km² has sides of just under 85 km, and a square has four sides, so it has a perimeter of just under 340 km. Like they say, you'd need a Bugatti Veyron.

    It's a silly construct, though, since people don't just occupy space, they use resources that require much more space to produce unsustainably today, and would require even more space to produce in a sustainable manner. That's what concerns about overpopulation are about. Whether you think we're "getting by" depends on which part of the world you're looking at - but even so, can we keep on "getting by" over the long term, as populations increase and resources are depleted?

    You wouldn't be able to do it in a Veyron as you would be constantly stopping for fuel.


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    #27
    Eric Cartman
    Registered Users Posts: 26,283 ✭✭✭✭Eric Cartman


    thinly veiled attempt by delaware to organise a big orgy...


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    #28
    baalthor
    Registered Users Posts: 1,241 ✭✭✭baalthor


    bnt wrote: »
    Without wishing to politicise this thread, the late Yasser Arafat was quoted as saying "we will make life unbearable for Jews by psychological warfare and population explosion", calling the wombs of Palestinian women a "biological weapon". So the short answer to the question is "yes".
    The birth rate of the Ultra Orthodox Jews in Israel is much higher - around 6 children per woman

    I remember when the 5 billionth child was born - the UN picked a girl born in Yugoslavia to mark the "event" - I guess it was a hopeful gesture to recognise a country where people with many differing languages, religions and alphabets could live together in harmony ...


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    #29
    bnt
    Registered Users Posts: 12,957 ✭✭✭✭bnt


    baalthor wrote: »
    The birth rate of the Ultra Orthodox Jews in Israel is much higher - around 6 children per woman
    It's not a competition ... or if it is, it's one that will have no winners, only losers. :(

    From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say, ‘Look at that, you son of a bitch’.

    — Edgar Mitchell, Apollo 14 Astronaut



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    #30
    Capt'n Midnight
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 90,695 Mod ✭✭✭✭Capt'n Midnight


    Why do they need 1m2 each ??


    http://www.gkstill.com/Support/crowd-density/625sm/Density6.html


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    #31
    Dfmnoc
    Registered Users Posts: 183 ✭✭Dfmnoc


    What heat would be generated in the center of the square?

    Would the CO2 generated in the square out do the oxygen levels so much that it would wipe out a high percentage of the square.


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