I'm
sort of interested in hearing more about the falling spy satellite.
It
is my hope that the press will use this collision to give us all some
sense of how insignificant we are on the planet.
Two-thirds
of the planet is ocean and water, ten percent of the surface is ice. There are vast deserts South and East of the Mediterranean
and in China and Siberia. There are vast ranges of uninhabitable
mountains and nearly two-thirds of the U.S. is parkland or government
preserve.
We can define danger of collision with a falling
satellite as a human being
actually being hit by a piece of debris. Then we need to know what
proportion of the planet has no human beings within 100 yards of empty
space.
I'd like to know the number. My guess is that the part of the planet that is uninhabited is 99.9% or greater.
Postscript: Yes, I know there are plans to intercept the satellite and destroy it. That is very risky because it would be embarrassing to miss it.