What If Earth Was Half Land and Half Water_
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CreativityTranscript
00:00Imagine Earth with an even 50-50 split
00:05between continents and oceans.
00:08Our planet covered half by land
00:11and half by water.
00:14How would this change the planet as you know it?
00:18What new kinds of vacations
00:20could this make possible for you?
00:23And what does the color of your pea
00:27have to do with this?
00:30This is What If?
00:32And here's what would happen
00:33if the Earth was half land and half water.
00:37When it comes to making life possible on a planet,
00:40water is an absolute must-have.
00:44That's why we look for alien life
00:46on worlds where liquid water could exist.
00:50When it comes to our own planet,
00:5271% of its surface is covered by water.
00:56Most of that is in our five oceans.
01:00Together, they form one global ocean.
01:04Now, if you replaced
01:06nearly a quarter of our ocean water with land,
01:10how soon would Earth turn into
01:13just another lifeless rock in space?
01:18Thanks to global warming,
01:19Earth's sea levels are currently rising.
01:22But if you wanted to balance
01:24the planet's land-to-water ratio,
01:27you'd see the sea levels absolutely plummet.
01:31And not just a few meters,
01:33but around three kilometers.
01:36Earth would look very different.
01:40The regions around both the North and South Poles
01:43would be completely dried out.
01:46And every continent on the planet would expand.
01:50And not just a little, either.
01:52All this newly emerged territory around the world
01:55would be roughly equal to the current surface areas of Asia,
02:00Europe, Africa, and North America combined.
02:05That would be an enormous amount of unused space.
02:10Everything extending off the old coasts
02:13would be relatively flat.
02:15But some of the areas that used to be deep ocean
02:19would reveal vast corridors and steep crevasses.
02:23As you explored this new land,
02:26you'd discover that the one global ocean
02:29would be no more.
02:31All of the oceans would be separated from each other,
02:34and all of the continents would be one connected landmass.
02:39And this would be good news for evolution.
02:44Early humans didn't have any ships or planes.
02:47We spread across the globe simply by walking.
02:51Venturing away from Africa some 70,000 to 100,000 years ago,
02:57we found our way to Europe and Asia.
03:00Eventually, we were able to cross a land bridge
03:04connecting Asia to the Americas.
03:06Possibly as far back as 20,000 years ago.
03:11With the 50-50 split in place,
03:14you'd now be able to cover even more ground.
03:17Finally, you could take that
03:18around-the-world trip you've always dreamed of.
03:21All on your own two feet.
03:24But this shifting balance of water and land
03:28wouldn't be all fun and games.
03:31With so much less water covering the surface,
03:35our ocean currents would be disrupted,
03:37and this would seriously destabilize the climate.
03:41Currents distribute the heat that's absorbed
03:45by the oceans around the globe.
03:47Disrupting them would mean even colder temperatures
03:51around the North and South Poles,
03:53while the already hot equatorial regions
03:56would get even hotter.
03:58Climate change would speed up too.
04:01All because oceans wouldn't be able to absorb
04:04so much carbon dioxide from the air.
04:06That excess carbon dioxide would blanket the planet
04:11and raise temperatures.
04:13Rain levels would also drop off,
04:15and this would create dangerous droughts,
04:18as well as new deserts in many inland areas.
04:23So while there may be an abundance of new land available,
04:27large stretches of Earth could become uninhabitable.
04:32Plants, animals, and humans would all need to adapt
04:36to being less dependent on water.
04:39Or at least start using it more efficiently.
04:43Water scarcity could result in animals
04:46evolving to be smaller,
04:48with more making the jump to a strictly carnivorous diet.
04:53And sadly, the abundance of life that today's oceans support
04:57would struggle to survive.
05:00And maybe the most surprising consequence
05:03that you'd need to get used to
05:04is that your pee would likely change forever.
05:09Usually, urine is made up of more than 90% water.
05:14But with less water in your daily life,
05:17yours would become much darker
05:19and start to smell like ammonia.
05:23I mean, things could be worse.
05:26You could drain the oceans of every drop of water they have.
05:30But that's a story for another WHAT IF.
05:36Which one could be a we could be a filter.
05:39But that's a story.
05:40But that's why you can do it.
05:41All right.
05:42So keep it safe.
05:43We'll see you.
05:44I know you're not going to drop in so far as you're looking at free.
05:46And now, you're not going to drop to that,
05:47but I'm out of time at home.
05:48But we'll be able to get used to the next episode
05:50of this episode.
05:50You got to feel a defense.
05:51You're not going to drop the ocean on the horizon.
05:53So keep it safe.
05:54You're not going to drop up in a place.
05:56There's a new event here.
05:56There's a new event here on Twitter.
05:58This episode, people are going to drop love.
06:00I know you're going to drop a price.
06:01There's a new event.