Humanity eats 1 Hiroshima per minute!

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comparisons · units

Global average calorie intake is: 2940 kCal/capita/day.

We are 7 billion people on Earth.

That adds up to 8.6 * 1016 Joule per day

That is equivalent to 1 Hiroshima per minute!

Humans are scary.

Useful energy conversions:

  • An average human uses energy at a rate of 4 BicMac/hour. (not food but fuels)
  • Oceans are warming at a rate of
    • 1 BigMac/minute/person.
    • 4 Hiroshimas/second
    • 35 kW/person
    • 15 times faster than global energy consumption.
  • Humanity as a whole eats 1 Hiroshima/minute (see above)
  • 1 Hiroshima/second = 14 BigMacs/hour/person OK
  • 1 Hiroshima = 27 MegaBigMacs
  • 1 BigMac = 37 Nano Hiroshimas.

Numbers used:

World energy consumption: 150e15 Wh/yr = 1.7e13 W

7 billion people on Earth.

TOA radiative balance / Rate of global ocean heat uptake = 2.4e14 W

1 Hiroshima: 6.3e13 J

1 Big Mac: 2.3e6 J

1 kCal = 4184 J

AverageFoodIntake = 2940 kCal/capita/day = 142 W/capita

](http://xkcd.com/1257/#)

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