Posts Tagged ‘population’

2/3rds

Thursday, November 4th, 2010

Found an interesting statistic about the United State’s population and makeup yesterday on a blog: “Shifting Voter Demographics: America is a Different Country.”

In 1965 the nation was 89% white and 11% black, about the same as it had been during the previous century. Since then, high levels of Asian and Latin immigration have produced an America today which is 66% white and 33% “people of color,” a tripling of the minority population in only four decades. Remarkably, 10% of Americans are of Mexican descent and about 5% of the electorate speaks primarily Spanish.

They don’t cite their sources, but as soon as the 2010 Census results comes out, we’ll have more concrete facts …

Megacities

Friday, August 20th, 2010

Just read an interesting fact in an article about Chinese megacities over at Foreign Policy.

In Britain, the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, there are only two cities with a population of more than 1 million; in the United States, there are just 10 such cities. But already in China, there are 43 cities of more than 1 million, and by 2030 there will be 221, the McKinsey Global Institute predicts.

Wow.

Insect Food

Sunday, August 8th, 2010

I know this idea makes sense on a rational level, but still, yuk: “Insects could be the key to meeting food needs of growing global population.”

Key quote:

“We’re looking at ways of grinding the meat into some sort of patty, which would be more recognisable to western palates.”

Recognizable, but I’ll take a burger, thanks!

A New Person Every 13 Seconds

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

Just read an interesting fact over at the Opinionator blog at the New York Times:

Through immigration and high birth rates, the United States is expected to add another 100 million people by 2050. If you don’t believe me, consider that we’ve added 105 million people since 1970. This is more than the population of France. More than Italy. More than Germany. Currently, we have a net gain of one person every 13 seconds.