Well, it’s not as big as all that when you look at how it’s constituted.
This image shows all the earth’s water, all the fresh water, and all the water in lakes and rivers represented as spheres compared with the earth.
This image shows the earth’s water and atmosphere in the same spherical form.
Now, those spheres are still huge – but one must also realize that there are seven billion people on the surface of the earth who are busily crapping into the nest. It’s not hard to visualize our industry and our agriculture making a difference in the composition of those little globes over a couple of centuries.
Progress is being made. Carbon emissions are coming down, many nations are rapidly making the switch to renewable energy (sadly, ours is not one of them – at least not the “rapidly” part), and governments are doing what they can in their inefficient, ossified way to reduce surface pollution.
I just found these images fascinating and thought-provoking, and thought they were worth sharing.
The Old Wolf has spoken.
Playing in the World Game 