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The Human Cost of Stuff: Solutions We Love

Surprised Baby photo by Andrew Malone

6.5 Percent of All Humans Ever Born Are Still Alive Today

(And 22 other facts you should probably know.)

2 MIN READ
Aug 22, 2013

  • Estimated number of humans who have been born in the last 50,000 years (when modern humans appeared): 107 billion
  • Percentage of humans ever born who are alive today: 6.5

  • Percentage of U.S. adults who considered homosexual relations morally acceptable in 2002: 38
  • Percentage who considered homosexual relations morally acceptable in 2012: 59

  • Year the Mars One program plans to establish a permanent colony on the surface of Mars: 2023
  • Number of settlers who will initially populate the Mars colony: 4
  • Number who will return to Earth: 0

  • Number of sexual assaults estimated to have occurred in the U.S. military in 2012: 26,000
  • Number reported: 3,374
  • Number of reports that resulted in military court prosecution: 594

  • Distance in feet the robot “Vomiting Larry,” designed to study disease transmission, can hurl puke: 10

  • Gigatons of carbon dioxide humanity added to the atmosphere between 2000 and 2011: 321
  • Maximum additional gigatons we can release between now and 2050 and still have an 80 percent chance of limiting global temperature increase to 2 degrees Celsius: 565
  • Gigatons we would release by burning the world’s remaining proven fossil fuel reserves: 2,795

  • Percentage of discretionary spending devoted to defense in President Barack Obama’s proposed 2014 budget: 57
  • Percentage devoted to education: 6

  • Rank of the United States, out of 29 developed countries, in overall child well-being: 26
  • Rank of Greece: 25
  • Rank of Lithuania: 27

  • Length in miles of the Appalachian Trail, which extends from Georgia to Maine: 2,180
  • Percentage of hikers who complete the entire Appalachian Trail out of those who attempt it: 25
  • Percentage of climbers who summit Mt. Everest out of those who attempt it: 29
  • Number of Mt. Everests, from sea level to summit, equal to the total elevation climbed by hiking the entire Appalachian Trail: 16

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Chris Francis is a former editorial intern for èßäÉçÇø!


Katrina Rabeler
Katrina Rabeler is an environmental specialist at Ecology and Environment, Inc. and a former editorial assistant for èßäÉçÇø!

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The Human Cost of Stuff

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The Human Cost of Stuff