The total land surface area of Earth is about 57,308,738 square miles, of which about 33% is desert and about 24% is mountainous. Let's do the math again, but this time for the entire planet. Sounds plausible enough, right? Without going into the fact that almost half the State is desert, notice we have not allowed for any roads, shopping malls, schools, hospitals, football stadiums, prisons, sewage plants, rivers, lakes, reservoirs, golf courses, parks, and what else?How much land does it take to support a human being?īoundaries of China superimposed upon those of the USA. Dividing this figure by the current human population of 7 billion leaves each person with about 1000 square feet, a small plot the size of a big room about 33 ft x 33 ft.
Some like to assert that everybody on Earth could be fit into the State of Texas, using logic as follows. Humans have occupied almost all of Earth's habitable lands. Similarly, humans cannot sustain themselves for very long in mountains, though we often visit these regions on a temporary basis. Indeed, they all face serious water shortages. Cities built in deserts like Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Tuscon, cannot exist without importing water or pumping groundwater out of deep aquifers. People can visit deserts but long-term survival in desert regions is very tenuous. One third of Earth's surface is desert which supports very few people. "Land, they aren't making any more of it" - Will Rogersĭespite claimsto the contrary, humans cannot live without food and water.
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