In an earlier post I was reminded of the origins of the metaphor we now commonly use to consider the impact we have on the environment.  Then a few weeks ago Seth mentioned that he was invited to have dinner with the fellow who brought that metaphor into common usage.  He did not post on the discussion that took place during that dinner, but here is how Cornell’s newspaper of record covered the presentation that followed.

Now, thanks to the BBC’s website, I have encountered this metaphor once again.  If you click on the image above and plug in your birthdate, you can have a quick snapshot of where you fit into the timeline of human history (I was approximately the 76,944,046,711th person born in history, according to my birth date, whereas someone born today would be somewhere around the 83,214,560,807th).

If you click through from that first step to the next in this mental exercise calculator, you can consider a couple more variables related to the human footprint over time and space.  Thank you again Mr. Wackernagel.