# Is the earth getting heavier or lighter?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-earth-getting-heavier-or-lighter/864>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [March 21, 2000, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-earth-getting-heavier-or-lighter/864 "2000-03-21T20:44:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![lswote](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lswote/32/5737_2.png) [@lswote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lswote)\
**Post date:** [March 21, 2000, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-earth-getting-heavier-or-lighter/864/1 "2000-03-21T20:44:00Z")

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[http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3\_355.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_355.html)

Part of Cecil’s response to this question is to explain how the weight of more people in the world hasn’t increased the weight of earth at all

> [@](#):
>
> for the obvious reason that we are but dust, and unto dust we shall return

but people eat vegetation or other animals that eat vegetation and vegetation grows because of photo-synthesis, which basically takes energy from the sun and turns it into mass on earth.

I would think this would mean that people do at least indirectly contribute to making the earth heavier.

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“The truth does not make a good story; that’s why we have art.”

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**Author:** ![JBENZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b77776/32.png) [@JBENZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBENZ)\
**Post date:** [March 21, 2000, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-earth-getting-heavier-or-lighter/864/2 "2000-03-21T21:18:00Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> Originally posted by lswote:  
> \*\*  
> but people eat vegetation or other animals that eat vegetation and vegetation grows because of photo-synthesis, which basically takes energy from the sun and turns it into mass on earth.
> 
> I would think this would mean that people do at least indirectly contribute to making the earth heavier.  
> \*\*

Um…I don’t think the energy gets turned into mass…it just fuels the process by which water, CO2 and minerals that are already here get turned into biomass.

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JB  
Lex Non Favet Delicatorum Votis

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**Author:** ![KarmaComa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e36b37/32.png) [@KarmaComa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarmaComa)\
**Post date:** [March 21, 2000, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-earth-getting-heavier-or-lighter/864/3 "2000-03-21T22:08:00Z")

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Conservation of mass. It’s all about conservation of mass.

I might think, though, that the Earth is getting heavier, just because of dust and other miscellany pulled in…

I suppose there is mass pulled out, too, though.