Connect

(Alexandria, VA; 10/2/06): With America's population scheduled to pass the 300 million milestone in mid-October, Negative Population Growth, the nation's premier grassroots population group, reminded all Americans that such massive numbers are something to fear rather than celebrate.

NPG President, Donald Mann, stated: "We've got to face the harsh reality that an ever-growing U.S. population — which is adding tens of millions of people each decade and will likely surpass 400 million in only 30 years — is merely setting the stage for massive economic, social and environmental problems."

Mann made his comments as he was announcing that NPG is launching a national "Wake UP America!" educational campaign to alert the American public as well as local, state and national leaders to the vital need to get today's spiraling population numbers under control.

Mann decried government and business leaders who praise ever-growing population numbers as a symbol of America's growth and prosperity. He warned that our nation's failure to get a grip on illegal immigration and out-of-control population growth will develop into one of the greatest crises our nation will face in the 21st century.

According to Mann, the worst thing our national leaders can do is approach the problem with a patchwork of solutions. "Congressional action on getting immigration under control is a very necessary first step. But what is long overdue is a National Population Policy that can put our country on course to a sustainable future that protects our quality of life for future generations."

"Today's exploding population numbers are already seriously impacting our roads, schools and hospitals...urban sprawl is suffocating our farmland and wildlife habitat...our consumption-driven population is contributing greatly to global warming...and we are fast-depleting the limited water and energy supplies we need to survive as a strong, productive nation," Mann said.

To back up NPG's demands for a National Population Policy, Mann declared: "The American people are behind us on this issue. The scientific Roper ASW national opinion poll that NPG commissioned earlier this year found that 57% — the majority of the American people — favored a U.S. population that is equal to or less then the current numbers.

NPG's multi-faceted "Wake Up America!" campaign includes mailing educational posters to more than 5,000 middle and high schools across the nation, running fact-filled ads in nationwide publications including those that target Congress and Washington's policymakers, assigning representatives to speak on national and local talk radio, and conducting on-going National and Local Opinion Surveys, where the compiled results are sent to Congress. The "Wake Up America!" campaign will run through 2007, NPG's 35th Anniversary Year.

Negative Population Growth is a national nonprofit membership organization, founded in 1972, that has served as a resource for tens of thousands of citizens who work together to educate the American public and our political leaders about the catastrophic effects of overpopulation on our environment, resources, and quality of life.