8 Billion Time Anything
May 27, 2026
by William P. Meyers

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It is hard not to destroy the environment. Much of the food I eat now comes in plastic. Items that were in paper or cardboard a few years ago are now sources of non-recyclable materials.

My main environmental thrust is ending the extraction and burning of fossil fuel. To me, perhaps because I am a child of the Sixties, it is amazing that 1% of the U.S. population can't be organized to put an end to Exxon, Chevron, and their friends. 1% of the U.S. population is 3.3 million. Voting with 1% support does not work, but an army of protestors, even non-violent ones (if determined), could shut down most of the oil industry pretty easily. Way more than 1% of the population sees that global warming is an existential threat, but almost everyone is on their own treadmill, and not willing to risk the potential rewards of staying on that treadmill.

Today's tossed plastic bag had contained powdered milk. A few years ago this milk had come in boxes. So what is the big deal, one more piece of plastic in the trash? Especially given the Slow Motion Apocalypse has been gaining speed lately, as the Earth warms up and societies fall apart?

Well, there are at least 8 billion people in the world. For perspective, there were about 4 billion in 1975, 2 billion in 1925, 1 billion in 1800, and about 500 million in 1500.

By the way, a billion is one thousand millions. It is difficult number to comprehend. A million is one thousand times one thousand.

Eight billion times almost anything is a lot. I retrieved the milk bag and found it weighed about 1/2 (or 0.5) ounces. One half of eight billion is 4 billion ounces. Divide by 16 to get pounds: 250 million of them. Sure, the trash is spread around the world, spread relatively thin. But most people, including me, produce more than a half ounce of plastic trash per day.

In fairness, there are amounts so small that multiplying by 8 billion amounts to almost nothing.

Now consider the fossil fuel burned each day. It varies by individual, but includes fuel for commuters, fuel for passenger flight, fuel for electricity, and fuel for transportation of goods. Say two gallons of fuel as an estimate. 16 billion gallons of fuel per day, global total. No wonder we have so much carbon dioxide in the air and spring temperatures feel like the summer temperatures of my youth.

On the other hand, to try to be positive, if we each planted a tree this year, that would be 8 billion new trees.

The solutions are obvious, but fought against by those who commit Crimes Against the Earth. One child per family, until the human population reaches a sustainable level. No manufacturing of new gasoline burning passenger cars. Rapid build out of renewable energy.

My city, Seattle, has a pretty good recycling program. We have compost bins for organic waste. You can also not buy so much crap: 8 billion times a piece of crap is a lot of crap.