When I was born, in Long Beach, California, on Jan. 6, 1939, the population of the United States was precisely 130,879,718 people. Plus me.
Today the population of the United States is uncertain, but demographic sources like Worldometer put the total at about 349,000,000.
That’s how many people are capable of turning every habitable surface of a land area the size of the USA into houses and concrete. This country was really beautiful once.
I feel like Rutger Hauer’s character in Blade Runner. “All those memories will be lost, like tears in rain.” Only it’s not memories that are lost. I remember how it was. How it was, is what’s lost.
I feel sorry for Mars. That planet has no idea what’s coming for it.