Earth Policy News - U.S. Population Reaches 300 Million

October 4, 2006

At 09:16 AM 10/4/06, you wrote:

>Earth Policy News <Earthpolicynews

>Earth Policy News - U.S. Population Reaches 300 Million

>thehavens

>

>Eco-Economy Update 2006-9

>For Immediate Release

>October 4, 2006

>

>U.S. POPULATION REACHES 300 MILLION, HEADING FOR 400 MILLION

>

>No Cause for Celebration

>

>http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/2006/Update59.htm

>

>Lester R. Brown

>

>Sometime this month, the U.S. population is projected to reach 300

>million. In times past, reaching such a demographic milestone might have

>been a cause for celebration. In 2006, it is not. Population growth is the

>ever expanding denominator that gives each person a shrinking share of the

>resource pie. It contributes to water shortages, cropland conversion to

>non-farm uses, traffic congestion, more garbage, overfishing, crowding in

>national parks, a growing dependence on imported oil, and other conditions

>that diminish the quality of our daily lives.

>

>With births exceeding deaths by nearly two to one, the U.S. population

>grows by almost 1.8 million each year, or 0.6 percent. Adding nearly 1

>million immigrants per year brings the annual growth rate up to 0.9

>percent, raising the total addition to 2.7 million. As things now stand,

>we are headed for 400 million Americans by 2043. (See data at

>http://www.earthpolicy.org/Updates/2006/Update59_data.htm.)

>

>U.S. population growth contrasts with the situation in other industrial

>countries such as France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and Japan,

>where populations are either essentially stable or declining slightly. In

>virtually every industrial society where women are well educated and have

>ready access to jobs, they have on average two children or fewer.

>

>More people require more of everything, including water. In our highly

>urbanized society, we fail to recognize how much water one person uses.

>While we drink close to a gallon of water each day as water, juice, pop,

>coffee, tea, beer, or wine, it takes some 500 gallons a day to produce the

>food we consume.

>

>The U.S. annual population growth of nearly 3 million contributes to the

>water shortages that are plaguing the western half of the country and many

>areas in the East as well. Water tables are now falling throughout most of

>the Great Plains and in the U.S. Southwest. Lakes are disappearing and

>rivers are running dry. It has been years since the Colorado River, the

>largest river in the U.S. Southwest, reached the Gulf of Mexico.

>

>As water supplies tighten, the competition between farmers and cities

>intensifies. In this contest, farmers almost always lose. Scarcely a day

>goes by in the western United States without another farmer or an entire

>irrigation district selling their water rights to cities like Denver, Las

>Vegas, Phoenix, Los Angeles, or San Diego.

>

>The seafood appetite of 300 million Americans is also outgrowing the

>sustainable yield of its coastal fisheries. Long-time seafood staples such

>as cod off the New England coast, red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico, and

>salmon in the U.S. Northwest are threatened by overfishing.

>

>In the United States, more people means more cars. And that in turn means

>paving more land for roads and parking lots. Each U.S. car requires nearly

>one fifth of an acre of paved land for roads and parking space. For every

>five cars added to the U.S. fleet, an area the size of a football field is

>covered with asphalt.

>

>More often than not, this land being paved is cropland simply because the

>flat, well-drained soils that are good for farming are also ideal for

>building roads and parking lots. Once paved, land is not easily reclaimed.

>As environmentalist Rupert Cutler once noted, " Asphalt is the land's last

>crop. "

>

>The United States, with its 226 million motor vehicles, has paved some 4

>million miles of roads--enough to circle the Earth at the equator 157

>times. In addition to roads, cars require parking space. Imagine a parking

>lot for 226 million cars and trucks. If that is too difficult, try

>visualizing a parking lot for 1,000 cars and then imagine what 226,000 of

>these would look like.

>

>More cars also translates into more traffic congestion. Americans are

>spending more and more time sitting in their cars going nowhere as

>freeways and streets become, in effect, parking lots. As cities sprawl,

>commuter distance lengthens.

>

>Longer commuting distances and more congestion en route combine to

>increase the time spent in automobiles. In 1982 the average motorist

>experienced 16 hours of delay; by 2003 this had virtually tripled to 47

>hours. Car commuting time is increasing in nearly every U.S. metropolitan

>area. " Rush hour " everywhere is becoming longer as commuters attempt to

>beat it by leaving work early or delaying their commute until traffic

>eventually wanes.

>

>The costs of increasing congestion and longer commuting times are high.

>Traffic congestion in the United States in 2003 caused 3.7 billion hours

>of travel delay and wasted 2.3 billion gallons of fuel. The total bill for

>all of this was $63 billion.

>

>Some corporations have begun to consider congestion costs when deciding

>where to establish a new plant or office building. They are concerned

>about both the effects of traffic congestion on their employees and the

>costs for the company itself when the movement of raw materials and

>finished products is slowed.

>

>More people mean that not only are our home towns more crowded, but so too

>are the " get away " spots where we go for relaxation. National parks,

>wilderness areas, and beaches are seeing more visitors each year. U.S.

>national parks sometimes have to turn tourists away. In 1906 when Yosemite

>National Park was young and when we were a far less mobile population, the

>park had 5,000 visitors. Today, more than 3 million people (and their

>cars) visit the park each year.

>

>More people also usually means more garbage. New York City, for example,

>generates 12,000 tons of garbage a day, a flow that requires 600

>tractor-trailers--fully loaded--to leave the city each day headed for

>remote landfills in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Ohio. Trucking

>garbage to ever more distant landfills makes us more dependent on distant

>sources of oil.

>

>As population grows, so does energy consumption. The United States, richly

>endowed with oil, has largely depleted its petroleum reserves within two

>generations. The use of oil has exceeded new discoveries in the United

>States for some 25 years. As reserves shrink, U.S. production falls and

>imports climb, helping to drive up world oil prices. And as population

>increases, so do the emissions of the Earth-warming gas carbon dioxide.

>

>Given the negative effects of continuing population growth on our daily

>lives, it may be time to establish a national population policy, one that

>would lead toward population stabilization sooner rather than later. As

>noted earlier, almost all other industrial countries now have stable or

>declining populations. Perhaps it's time for us to stabilize the U.S.

>population as well, so that we never have to ask whether 400 million

>Americans is a cause for celebration.

>

># # #

>

>Additional data and information sources at www.earthpolicy.org or contact

>jlarsen (at) earthpolicy.org

>

>For reprint permission contact rjk (at) earthpolicy.org

>

>Special Note: Lester Brown will speak about his book, " Plan B 2.0:

>Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble "

>(www.earthpolicy.org/Books/PB2/index.htm), at the Washington, DC, Green

>Festival on Sunday, October 15, 2006 at noon. For more information see

>www.greenfestivals.org.

>

>Additional scheduled events are listed at

>www.earthpolicy.org/Lectures/index.htm.

******

Kraig and Shirley Carroll ... in the woods of SE Kentucky

http://www.thehavens.com/

thehavens

606-376-3363

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October 4, 2006

I remember the population reaching 200million in 1970 I think. Now 36 years later, it reaches 300.

But, is the statement "years since the Colorado river reached the Gulf of Mexico quite correct. Maybe I don't quite remember all of my geography, but, I'd swear that it flowed into the Pacific, and was actually a river that Pacific salmon came home to in order to deposit eggs. Is my memory that faulty?

ed

-

The Havens

graffis-l ; secretsnowrevealed ; Health and Healing-

Wednesday, October 04, 2006 5:49 PM

Re: Earth Policy News - U.S. Population Reaches 300 Million

At 09:16 AM 10/4/06, you wrote:>Earth Policy News <Earthpolicynews (AT) earthpolicy (DOT) org>>Earth Policy News - U.S. Population Reaches 300 Million>thehavens (AT) highland (DOT) net>>Eco-Economy Update 2006-9>For Immediate Release>October 4, 2006>>U.S. POPULATION REACHES 300 MILLION, HEADING FOR 400 MILLION>>No Cause for Celebration>>http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/2006/Update59.htm>>Lester R. Brown>>Sometime this month, the U.S. population is projected to reach 300 >million. In times past, reaching such a demographic milestone might have >been a cause for celebration. In 2006, it is not. Population growth is the >ever expanding denominator that gives each person a shrinking share of the >resource pie. It contributes to water shortages, cropland conversion to >non-farm uses, traffic congestion, more garbage, overfishing, crowding in >national parks, a growing dependence on imported oil, and other conditions >that diminish the quality of our daily lives.>>With births exceeding deaths by nearly two to one, the U.S. population >grows by almost 1.8 million each year, or 0.6 percent. Adding nearly 1 >million immigrants per year brings the annual growth rate up to 0.9 >percent, raising the total addition to 2.7 million. As things now stand, >we are headed for 400 million Americans by 2043. (See data at >http://www.earthpolicy.org/Updates/2006/Update59_data.htm.)>>U.S. population growth contrasts with the situation in other industrial >countries such as France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and Japan, >where populations are either essentially stable or declining slightly. In >virtually every industrial society where women are well educated and have >ready access to jobs, they have on average two children or fewer.>>More people require more of everything, including water. In our highly >urbanized society, we fail to recognize how much water one person uses. >While we drink close to a gallon of water each day as water, juice, pop, >coffee, tea, beer, or wine, it takes some 500 gallons a day to produce the >food we consume.>>The U.S. annual population growth of nearly 3 million contributes to the >water shortages that are plaguing the western half of the country and many >areas in the East as well. Water tables are now falling throughout most of >the Great Plains and in the U.S. Southwest. Lakes are disappearing and >rivers are running dry. It has been years since the Colorado River, the >largest river in the U.S. Southwest, reached the Gulf of Mexico.>>As water supplies tighten, the competition between farmers and cities >intensifies. In this contest, farmers almost always lose. Scarcely a day >goes by in the western United States without another farmer or an entire >irrigation district selling their water rights to cities like Denver, Las >Vegas, Phoenix, Los Angeles, or San Diego.>>The seafood appetite of 300 million Americans is also outgrowing the >sustainable yield of its coastal fisheries. Long-time seafood staples such >as cod off the New England coast, red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico, and >salmon in the U.S. Northwest are threatened by overfishing.>>In the United States, more people means more cars. And that in turn means >paving more land for roads and parking lots. Each U.S. car requires nearly >one fifth of an acre of paved land for roads and parking space. For every >five cars added to the U.S. fleet, an area the size of a football field is >covered with asphalt.>>More often than not, this land being paved is cropland simply because the >flat, well-drained soils that are good for farming are also ideal for >building roads and parking lots. Once paved, land is not easily reclaimed. >As environmentalist Rupert Cutler once noted, "Asphalt is the land's last >crop.">>The United States, with its 226 million motor vehicles, has paved some 4 >million miles of roads--enough to circle the Earth at the equator 157 >times. In addition to roads, cars require parking space. Imagine a parking >lot for 226 million cars and trucks. If that is too difficult, try >visualizing a parking lot for 1,000 cars and then imagine what 226,000 of >these would look like.>>More cars also translates into more traffic congestion. Americans are >spending more and more time sitting in their cars going nowhere as >freeways and streets become, in effect, parking lots. As cities sprawl, >commuter distance lengthens.>>Longer commuting distances and more congestion en route combine to >increase the time spent in automobiles. In 1982 the average motorist >experienced 16 hours of delay; by 2003 this had virtually tripled to 47 >hours. Car commuting time is increasing in nearly every U.S. metropolitan >area. "Rush hour" everywhere is becoming longer as commuters attempt to >beat it by leaving work early or delaying their commute until traffic >eventually wanes.>>The costs of increasing congestion and longer commuting times are high. >Traffic congestion in the United States in 2003 caused 3.7 billion hours >of travel delay and wasted 2.3 billion gallons of fuel. The total bill for >all of this was $63 billion.>>Some corporations have begun to consider congestion costs when deciding >where to establish a new plant or office building. They are concerned >about both the effects of traffic congestion on their employees and the >costs for the company itself when the movement of raw materials and >finished products is slowed.>>More people mean that not only are our home towns more crowded, but so too >are the "get away" spots where we go for relaxation. National parks, >wilderness areas, and beaches are seeing more visitors each year. U.S. >national parks sometimes have to turn tourists away. In 1906 when Yosemite >National Park was young and when we were a far less mobile population, the >park had 5,000 visitors. Today, more than 3 million people (and their >cars) visit the park each year.>>More people also usually means more garbage. New York City, for example, >generates 12,000 tons of garbage a day, a flow that requires 600 >tractor-trailers--fully loaded--to leave the city each day headed for >remote landfills in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Ohio. Trucking >garbage to ever more distant landfills makes us more dependent on distant >sources of oil.>>As population grows, so does energy consumption. The United States, richly >endowed with oil, has largely depleted its petroleum reserves within two >generations. The use of oil has exceeded new discoveries in the United >States for some 25 years. As reserves shrink, U.S. production falls and >imports climb, helping to drive up world oil prices. And as population >increases, so do the emissions of the Earth-warming gas carbon dioxide.>>Given the negative effects of continuing population growth on our daily >lives, it may be time to establish a national population policy, one that >would lead toward population stabilization sooner rather than later. As >noted earlier, almost all other industrial countries now have stable or >declining populations. Perhaps it's time for us to stabilize the U.S. >population as well, so that we never have to ask whether 400 million >Americans is a cause for celebration.>># # #>>Additional data and information sources at www.earthpolicy.org or contact >jlarsen (at) earthpolicy.org>>For reprint permission contact rjk (at) earthpolicy.org>>>Special Note: Lester Brown will speak about his book, "Plan B 2.0: >Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble" >(www.earthpolicy.org/Books/PB2/index.htm), at the Washington, DC, Green >Festival on Sunday, October 15, 2006 at noon. For more information see >www.greenfestivals.org.>>Additional scheduled events are listed at >www.earthpolicy.org/Lectures/index.htm.******Kraig and Shirley Carroll ... in the woods of SE Kentuckyhttp://www.thehavens.com/thehavens (AT) highland (DOT) net606-376-3363

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