Chongqing: if you are not from Asia or a geography enthusiast, the name may not mean a great deal to you. However, this city in southwestern China now boasts the largest urban population in the world – and it has an infrastructure and architecture that clearly demonstrate that… an awful lot of people live there. In fact, the figure currently stands at 32,054,159. (picture credit)
While many bemoan the dumbing down of TV as something terminal, those of us who live in the UK can afford a slightly smug moment every now and again. BBC4 is one of those rare channels that shows genuinely challenging television content and the above is a great example.
Hans Rosling is famous for his lectures - they combine the huge amount of data which is generally available to each and every one of us and shows them in a way which is easily comprehensible, despite the vastness of the data. Here, he shows the story of 200 countries over 200 years - all shown through the remarkable technology of augmented reality animation.
This is taken from a programme called The Joy of Stats. If you are laboring under the impression that statistics are essentially boring then take a look at this excerpt from the show and then deny the fact that you were completely drawn in by it - if you can!
This is an amazing piece of footage - 120,000 numbers flash in front of our eyes in just four minutes and the data that is extrapolated indicates that perhaps the world in which we live is somewhat different from the world which most of us have in our imagination.
Population growth is the elephant in the room. In virtually all globally important meetings about the environment the human population is not mentioned. However, the bald facts - as presented here by Kristy Graybill - are more than a little frightening.
The increase in population from now to 2050 will equal the entire world population in 1950. While the birth rates of developed nations is slowing their populations continue to consume a disproportionate amount of the planet's resources. If our standards of living are to be maintained or improved then this will mean the destruction of much of what remains of the earth's pristine habitats. No one wants that, but still population is hardly ever mentioned by politicians.
The solution is fairly simple if unpalatable. The developing world must curb its almost exponential population growth and in return those lucky enough to live in the developed world must learn to curb their excesses. It is as simple as that - but do we have the will to make it happen?
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That is quite a number.
