UNDER CONSTRUCTION, DUH!

This problem is recommended for those students looking for a tough problem. You should understand the geometry of a circle.   

     If you were to walk around the world at the equator it would take about 346 days to travel the full 24,903 miles. You would have to walk 24 hours a day, at 3 m.p.h., and not have to contend with mountains, weather, water, hostile countries and/or homework. This would make the Eco-Challenge look like a walk in the park. This walk would require you to travel through each of the time zones and therefore all of the meridians (lines of longitude). Look at the map and count the time zones. As you walk around the world, you must remain parallel to the lines of latitude (not marked on this map).

     The numbers at the top represent the meridians or lines of longitude in 15 degree increments. The numbers at the bottom refer to the change in time from the the Prime Meridian. As an example, if it is 7 p.m. in London, England then it is -5 hours (7 p.m. - 5 hours = 2 p.m.) in Springfield, Massachusetts. (Coordinated Universal Time(U.T.C) is a system used  to indicate time in meteorology)
     Now back to the challenge. Is it possible to walk around the world in 24 steps? Remember, you must go through each time zone and remain parallel to the lines of latitude. Look at the next map and see if it helps.

     You will notice that this map does show the latitude and longitude, but from a totally different perspective (Azimuthal Equidistant). This perspective takes into account the shape (sphere) of the planet. In this image we are looking down on the earth from above the North Pole. The earth is also transparent.
     Here is the second part of the problem. If a step is 2 feet long how far will you travel (in feet) if you could go around the world in 24 steps? What would the diameter of the circle that you went around have to be? Here is a hint: Diameter = Circumference divided by Pi (3.14)