Light Pollution vs Population Map

[laser_jock99]

Here's an unusual map of light pollution (as measured from space by NASA) plotted onto a 'population projection' of the globe.

Not unexpectedly high population areas have most light pollution. Worryingly the UK looks rather bloated as a population projection (people per square km) map. Compare to Australia for instance. Not wanting to sound political- but I think Our Island is becoming unsustainably overcrowed. And yet our Govement thinks we need to build another 200,000 houses. Who are they all for?

Source web page:

http://www.viewsoftheworld.net/

The NASA data, high res images are viewable here:

http://earthobservat...ights/page3.php

[The Sailor]

Shhhhhhhhh....................

Jim

[JamesF]

I think Our Island is becoming unsustainably overcrowed. And yet our Govement thinks we need to build another 200,000 houses. Who are they all for?

The demand for housing may not (just) be related to the total population, but rather the fact that the average age at which people are marrying is rising, that people have tended to move out of the family home and live alone or with others in a similar situation before they get married and that more people are living alone anyhow.

I can't disagree that there's an argument that the UK is massively overcrowded though. We have a population that has doubled in size over the last hundred years, we produce barely 50% of the food we consume and we quite probably don't possess the natural resources we need to maintain our current standard of living. Yet it seems to me that the economics of western capitalist societies are predicated on "selling more stuff to more people" which only allows that situation to become worse. Of course our lifestyles have become better by many measures, but that's at the cost of a national debt equivalent to every man, woman and child owing over £18,000 (or, if you prefer, about £55,000 per household) and growing all the time.

The way out of this situation surely has to be to sell things that the organisations and countries to whom we owe so much money want, but how much do we really have to offer? A financial services sector that appears by the week to be more and more feckless and corrupt? Yet if we can't find some way out then there must come a time when our situation will be just as bad as that suffered over the last few years by some of our European neighbours.

This isn't politics, this is economics. I don't believe ideology is useful here. Perhaps we should all have a better understanding of how our lifestyles are funded (me included).

James

[laser_jock99]

I agree- the whole economic cycle is unsustainable (e.g. the company I work for builds machines, to help other people build more machines that make parts which we use to build our machines.......).

I don't know what the alternative is? A Medieval subsistance agriculture based ecconomy.

[JamesF]

I think learning to live within our means as individuals and as a nation would be a good start. Part of that may be accepting that we have to pay more for a lot of things and therefore have to live with less. I think we need to look forwards, not back, but there don't seem to be many options other than burying one's head in the sand or being prepared to swallow some very bitter pills.

James

[Stargazer_00]

One word which should turn our economy around: graphene

[StuartJPP]

One word which should turn our economy around: graphene

I thought we didn't patent it and other countries are patenting its use left right and centre?

To me there are way too many people on this planet and we are probably due some global epidemic to reset it back to a sustainable rate. I know it may sound a bit harsh, but it will either be that or we will end up warring for what limited resources this planet has to offer.

[Stargazer_00]

I thought we didn't patent it and other countries are patenting its use left right and centre?

To me there are way too many people on this planet and we are probably due some global epidemic to reset it back to a sustainable rate. I know it may sound a bit harsh, but it will either be that or we will end up warring for what limited resources this planet has to offer.

we took 50 patents versus other countries who took thousands.

All patents are not equal I'm sure we took the absoute cream befoe anyone else got a look in. the majority of those other ones would be like

- graphehe shower curtain rings

- graphene hoover pipes

- graphene plug sockets

and so on

our 50 would be like

- graphene gas & oil pipelines

- graphene space parts

- graphene aeodynamic parts

- graphene miltary parts

we will have the ones that make all the real money. everyone else will be fighting over the scraps

[Scooot]

http://www.risa.co.uk/sla/song.php?songid=22387