A sense of not belonging

Abstract

The human species has evolved at relatively low altitudes and most of us have stayed there. In fact, around a third of the Earth’s population lives on coastal plains, within 100 vertical meters (328 feet) of sea level, in spite of familiar dangers, like floods, tsunamis, increased risk of malaria, etc. Climb to an elevation of a mere 500 meters (1640 feet) and three quarters of the global population will be beneath you. The figure rises to over 90% by the time you have reached 1500 meters (just below 5000 feet) [37].