Total Area Of American Pavement, Buildings Equals Size Of Ohio

BOULDER, Colorado, June 15, 2004 (ENS) - "The combined size of all highways, streets, buildings, parking lots and other solid structures within the lower 48 states and the District of Columbia is some 43,480 square miles, roughly the size of the state of Ohio.

The finding comes from a study by Christopher Elvidge of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Geophysical Data Center in Boulder, Colorado, who along with colleagues from several universities and agencies produced the first national map and inventory of impervious surface areas in the United States.

The study appears in the June 15 issue of "Eos," which is published by the American Geophysical Union.

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Within watersheds, impervious surface areas alter the shape of stream channels, raise the water temperature, and sweep urban debris and pollutants into aquatic environments. These effects are measurable once 10 percent of a watershed's surface area is covered by impervious surface areas, Elvidge says. An increase in impervious surfaces means fewer fish and fewer species of fish and aquatic insects, as well as a general degradation of wetlands and river valleys. The researchers found the impervious surface area of the Lower 48 states is already slightly larger than that of its wetlands, which cover 38,020 square miles."

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http://forests.org/articles/reader.asp?linkid=32638

The amount of land that is very close to a building, or pavement, is much larger.

we like to say that you could drive from one end of Ohio to the other and never leave a parking lot.

Thank God that people in Ohio are spared the hideous experience of visiting any malls that are not oatmeal, beige, tan or taupe - one can only imagine how novelty and unusual color schemes might hurt retail sales.

And don't even get me started on what would happen if they had to go shopping in any buildings constructed before 1992!!

...that would mean 4,151 sq feet of paved and covered land space for every man, woman and child living in America (5280ft X 5280ft X 43480sqmi / 292000000persons). That development also has taken some of the finest agricultural land in the country and just paved or poured concrete right over it making it inaccessable for growing anything. Population projections for the year 2050 just 46 years from now, suggest that the country will need to pave over the neighbouring state of Indiana to maintain America's insatiable appetite for more roads and buildings.

<see U.S. Census Population Projections>

U.S.
Year Population
2000 282,125
2010 308,936
2020 335,805
2030 363,584
2040 391,946
2050 419,854

http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/usinterimproj/natprojtab01a.xls

I went back to Ohio
But my pretty countryside
Had been paved down the middle
By a government that has no pride
The farms of Ohio
Had been replaced by shopping malls

It's actually quite sad. The population of the U.S. could easily be contained within the state of texas with neighboring states used for cropland.