All over the world, people are moving into cities from the countryside, because young people want jobs and older people want a more convenient lifestyle. These changes could significantly affect global emissions of carbon dioxide over the next 40 years. By mid-century it is estimated that global population could rise by more than 3 billion people, with most of that increase occurring in urban areas.read more
Crazier than country folks? – Are city residents crazier than people who live in the suburbs or in the country? A new report says yes.
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A city my be a world unto itself, but what happens if it is located in an area where it rains a lot? We assume that the rainy countryside surrounding some cities is that way because of where the areas are located. But there may be another factor: Sprawl.
Researchers think that a city’s sprawl may have an influence on the amount of rain the area around it receives, which is consistently more rain than the urban center. As large urban areas continue to expand, they appear to influence tornadoes and other severe weather. Cities could be even more at risk if located in a region experiencing a wet fall or winter.
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James Lovelock first coined the term Gaia, a word that means viewing the Earth as a single living, breathing organism. A new scientific trend views the world’s biggest cities the same way. More than half the world’s population today lives in cities, and the world’s largest urban areas are growing rapidly. The number of megacities (metropolitan areas with populations exceeding 10 million) has grown from just 3 in 1975 to about 20 today.
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