ECONEWS: Green Bites- Earth by numbers

How many species ? 
A new study published in PLoS Biology estimates the total number of species on Earth at 8.7 million, with 6.5 million on land and 2.2 million in the ocean. In spite of 250 years of classification and 1.2 million species catalogued, the results suggest that 86% of the land species and 91% in the ocean await description. In 1979, when a beetle expert at the Smithsonian went into the jungles of Panama, rolled some sheeting and sprayed several trees with pesticide, he discovered the bodies of over 1,100 new beetles under a single tree.
How much species loss ?
We are causing the extinction of species at between 100 and 1,000 times the natural background rate. The current estimate is that we could cause the extinction of 9%-18% of all species by 2050, representing up to 1.5 million species.
How many people?
The seven billionth person may be born on October 31st, so expect a lot of media coverage. It took five million years to reach one billion; 123 years to reach two billion; 47 years to reach four billion; 25 years to reach six billion; and 12 years to hit 7 billion. We are increasing by 77 million a year, but the birth rate is falling as women become educated and there is more widespread contraception. With so many young people, the growth will continue until around 2050 when it will hopefully stabilize at 9-10 billion and begin to fall. If every couple had just one child, it would fall to two billion in 100 years.
How many cars, trucks and buses?
The 4-wheeled population passed one billion last year. It took 85 years to hit a quarter billion; 16 years to reach half a billion, and 24 years to double to one billion. Some predict that it could reach 2.5 billion by 2050. If every country adopted sustainable mobility policies and designs that prioritized walking, cycling, transit, rail, car-sharing and ridesharing, it could fall to half a billion, with one vehicle for every six or seven households.
How much CO₂?
The current level is 392 parts per million, compared to 285 ppm before the industrial age. Lacking global action, we are on a seemingly relentless track to 450 ppm, and then more. Half the surplus CO₂ is entering the oceans, making them more acidic. The other half is entering the atmosphere, where the average molecule released by a car or truck today will trap heat for 100 years.