Bryan Jackson

I do not believe the United States can sustain its current population of 300 million in the long run; 200 million is a more accurate representation of what our country can sustain. Our current population overburdens our environment and our economic and social structures. 300 million and growing positions our country in a population crisis - we simply cannot maintain a healthy environment and an adequate standard of living with a population of that size. In fact, we urgently need a negative rate of population growth until we reach a sustainable level.

As our population has increased – from 200 million to 300 million in less than 40 years – our country has put overwhelming strain on its natural resources. With the drastic increases in population and the resultant urban sprawl, we have been depleting our country?s water and energy supplies, and instead adding to global warming and increased greenhouse gas emissions.

Our ever increasing population sprawl has decreased the land available for other species, and is causing the extinction of hundreds of species each year. We?ve suffocated much of our farmland and wildlife habitat. We are losing our green space, as well as destroying the diversity that is necessary to a vital, healthy environment. Our environment cannot survive the strain.

With the likely potential of increasing another 100 million in the next 30 years, our country will require even more land, water, and energy. The more we grow, the more imported oil and infrastructure we require - roads, bridges, power plants, and buildings- causing damage to our environment. We have finite resources and as we continue to grow our resources will not be able to meet the needs of our ever-expanding population. The harm we?ve done to the environment through population, ozone depletion, and waste is becoming irreparable. Initially the damage to our natural resources may have been restricted to limited areas such as tropical environments. Not any more.

NPG Population Essay Scholarship Contest (page 2)Bryan Jackson

Along with the shortage of natural resources, our country?s social and economic structures will suffer if we attempt to sustain a population of 300 million or more; similarly our quality of life will decrease. The financial costs of keeping up with the current population growth with increased infrastructure and sufficient building – houses, schools, hospitals, etc. – will overwhelm our economy. The increased housing costs will be unreachable by many. The ever increasing costs for Social Security and Medicare will also overwhelm our economic system. In the next 25 years our senior population (65 or older) may account for 20% of our total population. Younger workers could potentially face outrageous federal income tax increases to support our increasingly aging population.

We could curb the population explosion by a couple of proposed solutions; apparently the majority of our current population agrees that we need to take steps to give our country a future that protects our quality of life for future generations. We must take firm steps – now – to adopt sensible measures to reverse our population growth to avoid condemning future generations to life in an unbearably overcrowded country. Two of the measures I believe would be successful would be a drastic decrease in immigration, and a reduction in our country?s fertility rates.

One of the root causes of our out-of-control population explosion is our current immigration crisis. Our country?s population is being increased by over one million immigrants each year, with about one third of this consisting of illegal immigration. It is estimated that about half of the last 100 million Americans are immigrants and their children; and as a result public opinion is increasingly anti-immigration. The drastic increase in immigrants – particularly illegal immigrants – has placed a massive strain on our economic and social systems. An end to illegal immigration, and the drastic reduction of legal immigration, would help us make dramatic strides towards a smaller population and would alleviate the strain on our economy and our natural resources.
NPG Population Essay Scholarship Contest (page 3)Bryan Jackson

Another measure would consist of encouraging couples to have not more than two children. Although fertility is currently one of the least important sources of population growth, it is a matter of concern. Fertility in our country has not been regulated, but we need to encourage families to stop at two children – to increase understanding that high fertility has negative social consequences.

Recent surveys have shown that the ever-growing population crises can and will wipe out many of our recent environmental advances. I share a concern with NPG about the unsustainable level of population growth – and I would suggest that 200 million is a sustainable population instead of the current 300 million.


* The source of information for this essay has been the press releases, articles, and journals found at www.npg.org.


Bryan Jackson