Does The World Population Problem Add Up?

As long as it is allow'd, that reason has no influence on our passions and actions, 'tis in vain to pretend, that morality is discover'd only by a deduction of reason.
David Hume, A Treatise of Human Nature, Book III, p. 457

The Oracle of Ottawa has heard it since he was a kid in the 1970's, and I am sure you dear reader have heard it all your life, so far, also. If the population of the planet Earth is not reigned in soon, there will be humans six deep everywhere before you know it! It is now well into the 21st century and the Oracle of Ottawa is alarmed to hear that Canada is going to need at least a million immigrants this year just to man the burger joints, all the walmarts, and to drive all the cabs that you can never seem to find when you really need one. So how bad is this so called world population problem really?

Hardly anyone here really...

As the Oracle of Ottawa has warned you dear readers over and over; always do your own thinking. Never take some talking heads word for it at any time. Do some research, crack a book, track it down, know for yourself and always do your own math, if you are able.There are about, depending on which authority you abide, six billion people, more or less, now alive on Earth.

Well how bad is that really? For example if you placed six human beings on a square meter, how much real estate would you require to have the whole population of the earth in just one place? Now, second part, if we break the world population into a average family size of three and give everybody a house and a yard measuring 30m by 30m, (or 1/4 acre, for you Yanks), how much land would we require? Would it even be possible?

Well the answer to the first part, is 1000 sq. km! That is a square measuring about 30km a side! Which is about the present size of Los Angeles! That's right, the whole population of the earth could fit into a square of about 30km in size! Why there is hardly anyone on this damn planet when you do the math! The second part, if you gave every family a home and a yard as described above, you would need an area the size of Alaska! Or an area about twice the size of Egypt, or if you want get jiggy with it, an area about 2/3 the size of the Province of Ontario! (All the above are about 1% of the Earths surface....)

It is all rather shocking isn't it? It appears that we are very far away from any population explosion anytime soon! The fact is that we haven't even broke ground on the back forty! Now the Oracle of Ottawa isn't pulling your chain. I will even provide a reference; Guesstimation - Solving the worlds problems on the back of a cocktail napkin, by Lawrence Weinstein and John A. Adam, published by Princeton University Press. 
Check it out, it is just brilliant, maybe next time we will talk about how deep the oceans will get if all the ice melts..

And yet another source that you can check out...