There's seven and a half billion humans on the planet currently; That means 50 people per sq. kilometer (129 per sq. mile) This figure is calculated on land mass only, not the total surface area of the planet including water. As a comparison between countries I have selected a few below based on population per sq. kilometer and is based on that countries' land mass including inland water bodies, Lakes, rivers etc.)
- Monaco 16,923
- Hong Kong 6,439
- United Kingdom 255
- Germany 229
- Nigeria 167
- Spain 91
- USA 33
- Finland 16
- Australia 3.4
That's a lot of people per square kilometer in general, and considering people tend to reside together in cities, towns and villages it generally means most people in the world live in close proximity to other people. Take Australia for instance; 89% of our population live in urban areas. I've actually read that 90% of Australia's land mass is deemed as uninhabitable which means only 10% is being utilized for our population. Yes, it's a big brown and bloody inhospitable place. source
With all those people living together around the world, and humans being humans, there's always going to be problems. Greed often rises to the surface and so neighbour steels from neighbour, village from village and country from country and so on. Wars happen and people die. There's always some megalomaniac seeking to have more. In that way we seem to be one of the biggest threat to human survival than almost anything else. But there are other threats. The list below is just a snippet.
- Malaria
- HIV
- Measles
- SARS
- Bubonic Plague
- Swine Flu
- Meningitis
- Bird Flu
- Ebola
- Spanish Flu
- Small Pox
- Cholera
These are just a few of course although the number of infected and deceased people from pandemics is staggering. The Spanish Flu infected 500 million people around the world in 1918 and killed an estimated 50 million people. The Black Death (Bubonic Plague) spread through Asia, Africa and Europe in the 14th century and was responsible for about 75 million deaths. I don't think it's possible to truly count the total cost in human life through plague, disease and pandemic however it's a lot I would imagine. source
The way I understand it the Black Death was spread by rats coming ashore from ships from other infected places. You know, a ship visits Asia with trade goods from Europe and then heads back to Europe via Africa bring exotic goods back. Travel was reasonably slow though; There were no planes to take people across the world in mere hours and the journey would take months. Still, the Black Death raced around the world infecting millions of people.
I'm heading to the UK in June, via Singapore. We leave Australia on a Saturday morning and land for a 9 hour stop-over in Singapore that afternoon then arrive in London on the Sunday morning so within 24 hours would have travelled a long, long way. Now imagine that I am infected with the Black Death and how many people I'm coming in contact with, how many things I am touching and possibly infecting. Pretty scary I think.
In thinking about pandemics and the human propensity for greed, war and chaos I'm often left thinking about being prepared for events of that nature. Ok, so can anyone be truly prepared? I'm not so sure. However there are many people around the world who spend time, effort and lots of money preparing themselves for various apocalyptic events from EMP or nuclear attack to flood, famine, meteor strike, economic breakdown and earthquake. There's a lot of threats some of which are only barely held in check seemingly.
I know people who scoff and laugh at people who endeavour to have a heightened level of preparedness; They call them crazy doomsday looney tunes and the like. However I wonder who would be laughing in the advent of a situation arising in which law and order was non-existent, government services broke down and utilities were unavailable. It won't happen you say? The government would look after you? Ok, maybe...But maybe not. Things happen all the time in life and at times those things create an environment where the usual amenities we take for granted are disrupted. Here's a few recent cases when this happened:
- 2010 Haiti earthquake
- 2010 Sumatra earthquake/tsunami
- 2011 Tohoku earthquake/tsunami
- 2004 Indian ocean tsunami
- 2005 Hurricane Katrina
- Somali Civil War
- Venezuela Crisis (ongoing)
- 1974 Cyclone Tracy (Darwin, Australia)
I won't go on as the list would be almost endless. A little research on the above list will show you how ill-prepared the governments and people were. I don't believe there is ever an excuse not to be prepared as a person living in this modern world. I don't necessarily mean people need to be stockpiling guns and ammunition, digging spider holes and creating defensive perimeters however in having some degree of preparation is simply prudent.
Think about a family home filled with two adults and two children. Do they have a well-stocked first aid kit and the skill to use it. Is there enough medicine in the household to cater for everyone's needs. Is there a fire extinguisher, blanket and fire evacuation plan? Is there sufficient water and non-perishable food in the house held in reserve to last a couple of weeks? Is the house kept secure from home-invasion and are doors locked when the family is inside? Is there a go bag packed for each and every family member? These are some simple and very basic preparations and yet most households would not have them in place.
Being prepared, or prepping as it is called is a hobby for some, the writer included, and it is done to varying degrees. No matter where a person lives and how safe they think they are this world can throw up unexpected challenges. Some of these will allow for no opportunity of survival for some, however for those left behind having the basics for life, especially in the initial few weeks can mean the difference between life and death. source
There are many things to consider when it comes to being prepared and there are also many resources to assist a person thinking about getting prepared. In this post I don't hope to answer any of those questions; Rather, I hope to impress upon people the importance of being prepared. Even if you don't want to become a prepper you need to be prepared. Do a first aid certificate at least; The life you save may be that of your child, partner or loved one. Devise a fire plan for your house, look for hazards in the home and eliminate or take steps to mitigate them. The little you do today may make a massive difference tomorrow.
We are constantly fed images and stories of disasters and pandemics from Hollywood; Hundreds of movies showing possible disasters and human reactions to them and yet in reality the average person is woefully prepared for even the most simple of problems like the power going out for 24 hours. (Oh my gosh, my fridge went off. What will I eat?)
Being prepared is not really a hobby, it's a requirement in my estimation and if you are not then you should get busy!
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