So, today we are now a country of 300 million people facing an uncertain future together.  What are the issues that we will have to deal with as a country as our population grows from this number, and what can we anticipate as we look at global population growth?

The United States currently has an average of 86 people per square mile, which is much lower than many other developed countries.  Even when we absorb another 100 million, which is projected to be around 2043-45 our population density will be lower than some European countries are now.  Where this statistic is misleading is that as a nation we all seem to want to live in similar places. The Center for Environment and Population has calculated that over half the population lives within 50 miles of the coasts.  The states in the heartland, such as the Dakotas, Nebraska, and Kansas are either losing population or experiencing minimum growth.  The trend line is clear: mega cities on both coasts and a wide open, sparsely populated middle.  This trend will be tempered by connectivity and increasingly disparate real estate prices.

How many people do we want to have, do we manage population growth and what do we need to do to support further population increase? We must begin to reflect on the answers to these questions.  Take for example the Southwest, one of the fastest growing areas of the U.S.  Basically the states of the Southwest are desert states.  These states are now beginning to …

Tomorrow, October 17, 2006 will be the day when the population of the United States of America will become 300 million.  It will most likely get a lot of coverage, as round, big numbers always have a fascination for the media.  In and of itself it is a non-event, as why is the 300 millionth birth more significant than the 301millionth birth?  But it is a significant number relative to the history of this country and as it fits into the population growth of the world.

First here is some historical perspective on this event.  The U.S. took 126 years to reach 100 million in 1915.  It took another 52 years to reach 200 million in 1967 and then 39 years to reach 300 million.  It is clear that we are reaching each milestone more quickly as population growth is exponential. That being said it is interesting to note that the rate of growth in the U.S. has been steadily slowing.  According to the U.S. Bureau of the Census, the average annual growth rate of the country’s population was 1.47% in 1950, 1.89% in 1955, and it peaked in 1965 at 2.08%.  Since then there has been a steady decline; 1.7% in 1980, 1.56% in 1990 and 1.26%, the lowest of the last 50 years, in 2000.  This decline in percentage growth is mirrored in all other developed countries, most noticeably Europe where, without immigration, the growth is actually flat to negative.  In the less developed countries, the population growth percentages …

A few days ago I was flying back from a vacation in Austria. On the first leg of the journey home, from Vienna to London, I flew on British Airways and, walking on to the plane picked up a couple of British Sunday Newspapers. When reading “The Sunday Telegraph”, evidently a respected paper, I was floored by the advertisement on page 12 of the main news section. The ad was placed by SPURT, which is an advocacy group supporting “unlimited aviation growth”. It had a picture of the CEO, and obviously was lobbying for airport expansion. Some of the language of the ad, and I quote verbatim:

“According to the World Health Organisation, 150,000 people die each year due to climate change. That’s a risk we’re prepared to take. The uncomfortable truth is that aviation is good for the environment. I’m taking my cheap holiday and telling the climate whingers to get stuffed”

The ad went on to say:
“Environmentalists only worry about things that will happen in the future – but many of us won’t even be around then.
Nobody wants to hear about climate change, flooding and people dying in Africa, it’s depressing and doesn’t even affect most of us
Everyone wants a holiday in a hot place, so what’s the problem?”
I looked back at the picture of the CEO to see if it was perhaps one of the Pythons, as my first reaction was “This Must be Monty Python”. The Institute of Funny …