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We are pleased to announce the winners of our
2011 NPG Scholarship Contest.

$2,000 - Tyler Vunk - The University of New England

$1,000 - Anne Montalban - The University of New Orleans
$1,000 - Aeisha Reese - Wayne State University

$500 - Erin Hanrahan - Loyola University Maryland
$500 - Hannah Manning - Western Washington University
$500 - Parker Powell - Boston University

2011 Topic:
The 112th Congress contains more than 100 new members who should learn about the critical issues of population growth and illegal immigration.

Students are requested to provide NPG with a three- to five-point plan to educate these freshmen legislators about what can be done to slow, halt and reverse today’s out-of-control population growth. Submissions must be between 500 and 750 words.

Tyler Vunk

Removing The Lynchpin: Healing America
by Controlling Overpopulation

            Good Afternoon. I’d like to begin by saying thank you for affording me with an opportunity to address you, the entering freshman class of the 112th Congress, on the subject of overpopulation. As our time today has been limited to a few minutes, my presentation will be brief, taking the form of an outline geared toward solving our current debacle. If I may direct your attention to the screen behind me, we can begin.
            According to the independent statistics of the U.S. Energy Information Agency, in 2009, America’s energy use was equal to roughly twenty-one percent of the world’s annual energy production. The Human Development Report, published by the United Nations in 2006, stated that a typical American goes through five hundred and fifty liters of water per day. With oil reserves shrinking, and a water crisis on the horizon, these disconcerting figures may be intimidating, yet only reveal two of the many threats facing our nation’s natural resources in the near future. Despite the myriad, eclectic details of each, these impending dangers share a common lynchpin. When closely examined, deforestation, water shortages, urban sprawl, air pollution, overburdened hospitals, and crowded educational institutions are derived from overpopulation.   With this in mind, America must design, develop, and implement a strategy that will decrease its current rate of population expansion to a safer, more sustainable number. The following plan outlines such a strategy.
            Education is where we must begin. Assembling, and disbursing an informative campaign will encourage an interest in the overpopulation dilemma. By providing a deluge of facts to the public through television, literature, and the Internet, changes in lifestyle may be more widely accepted. In addition, a federal committee would be put in place to oversee the curriculums in both elementary, and high schools, providing students with enhanced sexual education classes that discuss the impact of overpopulation.
            Moving along to the second part of this plan, we come to the controversial subject of birth control. While I recognize the importance of religious freedom, the fact remains that access to affordable contraceptive devices are the primary defense against overpopulation. Under my plan, clinics and organizations that offer access to preventative means would receive more funding. Also, insurance companies would be federally mandated to allow birth control medications, operations, and devices to be covered at minimal costs to their subscribers. Japan, Canada, New Zealand, and the majority of the European Union offer their citizens free healthcare that includes birth control options. It should come as no surprise that these countries have a much lower population growth rate than that of the United States.
            In the plan’s third stage, a steep tax increase would be applied to families that elect to have more than two children. Conversely, a new legislation would be put into place that regulates the amount of government assistance and tax credits given to parents who conceive more than two children after a given start-up date. Although seemingly harsh, these measures would not only reduce the nation’s population expansion, but would, over time, allow for more federal aid to be given to a smaller group of needy children, resulting in more quality care per child. Those who wish to adopt, or provide foster care would be eligible for additional benefits, and tax exemptions.
            Finally, my fourth area of improvement tackles Immigration. Homeland Security estimated that 10.8 million unauthorized immigrants were living in the United States during 2010. While stronger border control is necessary, the root of the problem lies in our own addiction to cheap foreign labor. That is why an immigration task force would be created that would oversee the enforcement of fines upon all businesses, contractors, and corporations who knowingly, or unknowingly employ illegal immigrants. By making the practice unprofitable, fewer job prospects would be available to the unauthorized, and thus a decline in immigration would ensue. In conjunction, this area of my plan would also warrant a longer waiting period for naturalized candidates entering the country legally. Although America would still welcome new citizens, it would become more selective, requiring applicants to possess skills, trades and talents that are in need.
            With my time coming to a close, I would again like to express my appreciation to this special meeting of the freshman members of the 112th Congress. It is my hope that you will leave this room today with a deeper understanding of overpopulation, and that this knowledge will shape your future decisions. May you all have the courage to make a better world.


Anne Montalban

Members of the 112th United States Congress:

            While the United States strives to ensure freedom to its inhabitants, the land of equal opportunity has unintentionally created a growing problem within the nation: overpopulation. It is estimated that the United States has a population of approximately 313 million people which includes citizens, legal residents, non-citizen long-term visitors and illegal immigrants. The United States is the third most populous country in the world and it is well beyond its carrying capacity. The population continues to grow daily and its effects are present through water and energy shortages, deforestation, air pollution, threats to wildlife and their natural habitat, overcrowded schools, etc.

The following five-point CEASE plan may be implemented to decelerate and eventually reverse our nation’s population growth.

1.    Condense Legal Immigration
            The Immigration Act of 1990 placed a cap on legal immigration at 700,000. However, since the act was passed, there has only been two years in which legal immigration was under that number. In 2006, approximately 1.3 million people were granted legal permanent resident status to the United States.

            Current immigration laws allow citizens to bring in their spouses, children, and parents without limits. This immediate family loophole accounted for 580,483 immigrants in 2006. Immigrant status is also given to people who possess skills that are in short supply within the country. These H1-B immigrants have a legal cap of 65,000 people per year. However, in 2006 alone, 407,618 people were granted legal access to the United States as H1-Bs. This was made possible because the legal cap only pertains to people in the private sector.

            The government needs to examine its current immigration laws and remove the ability to exempt individuals from the legal cap. Although drastic, it has become necessary to limit immigration to approximately 250,000 individuals in total per year.

2.    Eliminate Illegal Immigration
            Illegal immigration is the largest contributor to America’s population growth. Every year half a million illegals settle in the United States. The government needs to intensify the protection of our nation through an increase in border patrol agents, adding fencing along the United States–Mexican border, and installation of cameras and other security features.

            Workers who have expired visas also contribute to the illegal immigrant population throughout the country. The government needs to ensure that temporary workers are registered and leave the country accordingly before their visas expire.

            The Social Security Administration needs to elucidate the legal implications of hiring illegal employees. The amount of documentation that is accepted to verify work eligibility should be reduced to properly confirm the status of the nation’s work force. The government should increase their investigation of illegal employees and higher fines should be implemented to employers who hire illegal immigrants.

3.    Award Smaller Households
            The United States grants all of its citizens the right to have a family and share the American dream. However, large households augment the nation’s problem with overpopulation. While our democratic government does not condone inhibiting families from reproducing, it is necessary to give those with smaller households an incentive to reduce the population.

            Monetary incentives, especially in today’s economy, present themselves as an effective method of encouraging the population to reproduce fewer children. The government can examine our tax policies and amend their procedures with regards to family size. Tax deductions should be awarded to the first two children of each family and eliminated for other children beyond that amount.

4.    Strengthen Female Workforces
            Since the first wave of the women’s movement during the early 20th century, women have become more independent and have taken on America’s workforce. However, societal influences have led many women to maintain traditional sex role expectations.

            As a nation, it is necessary to continuously encourage working rights for women. It has been shown that working women are less likely to have children than those who are not. To promote the female workforce, it is necessary that women receive equal pay as their male counterparts. Corporations need to stimulate respect for women in the workplace and sponsor programs to increase women’s confidence in various fields.

5.    Educate America’s Population
            According to the Guttmacher Institute, sixty percent of pregnancies and forty percent of births in the United States are unplanned. Among all industrialized countries, it has one of the highest rates of teenage pregnancy. To reduce unintended pregnancies and the population growth, government sponsored programs should be established to educate the American population on abstinence and contraception. This information should be provided in public school systems and free contraception should be offered in government run health clinics.

Aeisha Reese

            Over the last 100 years, sprawling populations have led to over-crowded cities and dangerous amounts of stress being placed on the environment. If we continue along this path unchecked, the United States will face more pollution, destruction of the environment, shortages of food and clean water and a potentially greater economic collapse than the one witnessed in 2008. New members of the 112th Congress of the United States must be educated on the dangers of overpopulation and what they can do to “slow, halt and reverse today’s out-of-control population growth” in the United States. To accomplish this goal, NPG should implement the following plan.

NPG’s Plan to Educate Newly Elected Members of the 112th Congress of the
United States on the Dangers of Overpopulation

Step 1: Introduce new members of Congress to the dangers of overpopulation by providing them with position papers on the subject. Papers written by well-respected, credible experts in the field should be presented, along with research conducted by institutions and individuals who are experts on the dangers of overpopulation.

Step 2: Sponsor a public relations campaign to educate freshmen on the economic, social and environmental dangers of overpopulation. To reach the elected officials, NPG should create a press kit that contains fact sheets, press releases, backgrounders and brochures on overpopulation and NPG’s positions on how to reverse dangerous population trends. Other initiatives include public service announcements directed to the freshmen and social media sites they can visit for more information.

Step 3: Partner with the federal government to hold hearings on the dangers of overpopulation in the United States. People who can speak credibly on the subject should be invited to testify. This includes ecologists and environmentalists to explain the impact on the environment, economists to explain the impact on the economy, and elected officials from states that are being bankrupted (such as California) due to illegal immigrants draining social service resources.

Step 4: Recommend legislation that freshman members of Congress can sponsor. Legislation should be proposed that:

Reforms immigration. Freshmen should propose legislation that cracks down on illegal immigration and offers options for legal immigration. Plans for legal immigration should not lead to overpopulation in the United States. Illegal immigration is draining the educational, healthcare and social service resources of many states. The federal government has a responsibility to stop illegal immigration’s impact on states by passing federal laws that apply to the entire country.

Provides more funding for family planning initiatives. Initiatives that educate Americans on the value of smaller family size and initiatives that educate teens on preventing unwanted pregnancies should be emphasized. Programs that educate teens on responsible decision-making when it comes to sex should be pursued because teen pregnancy is still a big problem in this country.

Outlines the federal government’s plans to reforest the country. This includes initiatives that stop the cutting down of trees and vegetation to make room for more people in urban areas. Environmental stewardship has to become a priority in the United States. Our ecosystems need to be rejuvenated to counteract the harmful impact of overpopulation on the environment.

Pursues international treaties that curtail population growth around the world. The United States should seek international agreements that promote responsible population growth. This especially applies to countries in the developing world that are experiencing unchecked population growth. Additionally, Congress should mandate that the United States work with world organizations, such as the United Nations, to develop and implement plans to educate the world on family planning.

            Members of the 112th Congress have a responsibility to stop overpopulation in this country. Overpopulation can be stopped and reversed if they take action now.

Erin Hanrahan

            As it becomes increasingly obvious that the world’s resources are not unlimited, we must work to adjust to a more sustainable lifestyle. Due to the plethora of irrefutable evidence that illustrates the alarming rate at which we continue to populate the earth, it is imperative that we work together to control the population. Below I present a simple five-step plan that would help reduce the United States’ population growth at a steady rate.

1. REDUCE IMMIGRATION
            America has always prided itself on its vast diversity, however, with immigration comes a larger population. If the United States wants to seriously focus on slowing down the rate at which its society is growing, we must develop a more strict immigration plan. It is essential that the United States increase its’ standards for becoming a citizen as well as tighten border control in order to maintain a more manageable population size. Countries focused on maintaining smaller populations, such as Denmark, have extremely stringent restrictions on citizenship – America must work to adopt those.

2. PROMOTE SMALL FAMILIES
            Working to promote an image of smaller families is a critical factor in persuading average Americans to work towards slowing down the population’s growth rate. By idealizing small families through different media such as television shows, magazines, and books, large families will start to become less popular with the general population. Furthermore, the American government should work towards providing incentives, such as tax rebates, to families that choose to only have one or two children. The combination of the positive image of a small family with monetary incentives will help decrease the American population growth rate.

3. EDUCATION
            Education is one of the most critical and influential methods of implementing a negative population growth policy. It has been proven that through education and opportunities to further education people, especially women, decide to have fewer children. Because of this evidence it is imperative that the government work to make basic education and high education more accessible to the general population. Providing a greater portion of society with the opportunity to go to college with scholarships and financial aid, there will not only be an increase in smaller families, but also help create a more educated and productive American Society.

4. FAMILY PLANNING PROGRAMS
            Education concerning sexual education in combination with greater access to contraceptives is vital in controlling the American population growth rate. According to the American Pregnancy Association, unplanned pregnancies constitute around half of all pregnancies in America, thus unintentionally increasing the American population. In order to better prevent unintended pregnancies sexual education classes and access to contraceptives help to inform people of options concerning family. Through continued and increased funding to organizations, such as Planned Parenthood, resources and education concerning family planning will be more readily available, resulting in a decrease in the population growth rate through fewer unplanned pregnancies.

5. EMPOWER YOUNG WOMEN
            The most important and effective way to decrease America’s population growth is through the empowerment of women. By demonstrating to young girls that they have a purpose to society, other than to bear children, will help to decrease the amount of large families. Funding and support for activities and programs that empower women, such as Girl Scouts and the Young Women’s Leadership Program, help to provide young girls with opportunities that allow them to become productive members of society in ways other than motherhood. Numerous studies have proven that there is a direct correlation between the empowerment of women and lower birthrates. Therefore, it is critical that money and time goes into support the young women of American by continuing these organizations.

            We can no longer ignore the fact that as a society we are living beyond our means. It is imperative that the American government provides its citizens with a framework that helps promote a more sustainable lifestyle. With your help and this five-step plan to curb population growth in America we can make this possible.

Sincerely a concerned Maryland voter,
Erin Hanrahan

Hannah Manning

            Let’s face it: the rate of our population’s growth is nothing short of obscene. In 1900, the number of people in the United States was approximately 76,094,000. Now, it has been bloated to 311,069,119 and counting. Anyone who has a basic understanding of the concept of an ecosystem’s carrying capacity understands the implications of these numbers—that we need to slow down, and fast.

            There are those who believe that overpopulation is a myth. To these, I would suggest some perusing of Dr. John B. Calhoun’s findings. His “mouse universe” experiment from the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, revealed the detrimental effects that overpopulation has on individuals and society as a whole. This experiment consisted of a 9’ x 9’ x 4.5’ “universe” which included all the necessary amenities to sustain life (water, food, nesting materials, etc.) in excess amounts—all except space. Four pairs of mice were introduced. The population skyrocketed until day 315, when 620 mice occupied the space. Then, between days 315 and 600, the population gradually dropped and the mice exhibited excessively deviant behavior, effectively breaking down the overall social structure. Following day 600, the population of mice approached extinction.

            But people differ from mice, right? Obviously. But this doesn’t mean that we aren’t susceptible to the same restraints in our environment. What’s worse is that our water, food, and materials for “nesting” aren’t constantly replaced. Our space is limited, as are our resources.

            The policymakers of the United States cannot legislate the universe; they are restricted to the American populace. Our population has more than quadrupled within the last century or so, and it is in the hands of our leaders to ameliorate this issue so as to save our economy, our environment, and our people from unfathomable degeneration.

The first step to improvement is the prevention of immigration into the United States. Every year, approximately 1,000,000 people are legally allowed into the United States, and a greater number enter illegally. A similar proposed solution would be the encouragement of emigration from America to foreign countries. Increasing border control regulations and providing financial incentives for emigration could potentially decrease the population of the USA; however, such changes would have little effect on the overall population of the world. Instead of solving the problem, we would merely be moving it to the hands of other nations.

Some countries have already taken charge of their populations. China has its “one child law”, and India has a similar policy which encourages families to have fewer than two children in order to participate in local governments. But such forms of forced population control are controversial. Most Americans enjoy the freedom to choose how many children to have. Also, it would be virtually impossible to pass a bill like this in the USA. So perhaps instead of making laws which restrict the number of children per family, we should try to educate the populace about the adverse effects of population overgrowth, and through such education, we could try to reduce the procreative fervor that dominates many religious cultures.

Educating women and eliminating abstinence-only education is crucial. If we can increase contraceptive education, especially for lower socio-economic classes, women in these classes (who generally have more children than those in higher classes) will have fewer children. Well-educated women are not only more aware of birth control options, but more capable of negotiating these concepts with their spouses and families.

The penultimate step pertains to maintaining and increasing funding for family planning organizations such as Planned Parenthood through Title X. Doing this would increase not only the availability of birth control, but the education of women about their own reproductive systems. Family planning services funded by Title X prevent 1,331,100 pregnancies every year, and none of this funding goes to abortions, so it shouldn’t be too controversial.

The final step is to provide increased tax breaks for those who adopt children from within the United States and refrain from having children themselves. If we could encourage people to adopt children in need here, it might lessen the urge to have children of their own, thereby improving the overall population by reaching out to individuals already in need.

Parker Powell
Imagine 1 Billion People in the USA
By Parker Powell

     It's interesting to know that today's US population is over 310 million people, but did you know that at current growth rates we could be at nearly 1 BILLION people by the end of this century? Not only is that shocking, but combine that with the fact that the US leads the world in excessive consumption and waste per person, you will realize that we are headed for disaster.
We need action, and we need it now!

1.      KNOW! Your awareness of the issues is key

Know that we have limited natural resources, yet we have the highest consumption and waste of all countries on earth.

Know that at current growth rates, the US could have 1 Billion people by the end of this century. Just imagine three times the number of commuters and consumers than we have today!

Know what overpopulation means. That is when the population cannot be sustained without using up our natural resources. Any given area can successfully support only so many people.

Know that education must begin at the grade school level to teach the importance of population control and the devastating effects of overpopulation.

Know that the cost of raising a single child through age 22 and sending them to college is over $300,000

Know that in order to have sustainable resources, we need to stabilize our population growth.

Know that in order to stabilize our population growth we need to have National Population and Immigration policies. This is not something that will just happen on its own. We must plan ahead for an acceptable quality of life for your children and their children.

Once we have a National Population policy, then we can begin measuring annual progress against the plan.

Know that YOUR decisions today impact the quality of life now and for future generations.

2.      THINK! The quality of life for you and your family is at stake

Think about how you can consume less and waste less starting today

Think about how your decisions for family planning will impact your life today and multiply with future generations.

Think about ways to educate your family, your community and your representatives on this important issue.

Think about policies that could be put into place to help provide incentives for responsible, sustainable population growth.

Think about what's the right population size for our country and the earth.

3.      ACT! We can all help get to the "Goldilocks zone" of population
        growth

Teach your family about these important issues we are facing today.

Inform your representatives about policies that have worked in other countries, such as:

Required family planning classes before marriage

Increased benefits and incentives for families that have two or fewer children

Investments in health infrastructure and human development are essential in making family planning programs sustainable.
Make daily decisions that help reduce waste. Not only will you save money now, you will help preserve resources for a better tomorrow.
Go to www.NPG.org to get started on the path to Negative Population Growth