7 Billion Would Fit in Paris

People have been led to believe that 7 billion people make for a crowded planet. Not so. They could all fit into Paris. Or with less elbow room, into Manhattan.The web site www.persquaremile.com has a series of maps illustrating the area 7 billion would occupy if their density were equivalent to that of existing urban areas:

The "population problem" is actually a "consumption problem." If 7 billion were to consume per capita as much as people do in developed Europe, the global ecosystem would be sent into a rapid and disastrous decline.