For most of human history population growth and economic growth have moved in tandem. As humans invented agriculture (several times over a period of centuries, according to some archeologists) they managed to produce more food than they could consume.
Continue ReadingUnlike other advanced industrial countries U.S. population continues to increase, mainly because of immigration. That is a well-known fact. Not nearly so well-known is the role of Sub-Saharan immigrants in driving U.S. population growth. The overall growth of this population has been nothing short of extraordinary:
Continue ReadingSave the Earth…Don’t Give Birth The story behind the simplest, yet trickiest, way to help save our endangered planet. by Jonathan Austen An NPG Booknote by Edwin Rubenstein “We humans are young, greedy, inexperienced killer primates. We have recklessly allowed our population and consumption to rise beyond the capacity of the Earth. The rise in human populations is the underlying cause …
Continue ReadingCuban baseball players. A Russian ballet dancer. Joseph Stalin’s daughter, Svetlana. These are the kind of people, fearing persecution in their homelands, who were traditionally granted asylum in the United States.
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The U.S. has never had a formal population policy – has never tried to directly limit population growth or fertility rates. Any such policy would likely start with constraints on groups with the highest fertility rates: the poor, the poorly educated, minorities, and immigrants. The politics of such a move would be daunting. Charges of racism, elitism, and government meddling in a decision best left…
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Can the U.S. economy run on renewable energy alone? That may seem like a fanciful question at a time when the incumbent President insists that climate change is a “hoax” and is determined to restore coal to its once preeminent role in the nation’s energy supply. But a few years back Mark Z. Jacobson, a prominent Stanford University professor of engineering, published a widely acclaimed article claiming that energy from the wind, the sun, and …
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They are stressed out. Afraid to take risks. The cheapest generation of Americans, say some, preferring to rent rather than buy, share rather than own, and yet complete spendthrifts when it comes to procuring the latest and greatest cell phones, i-pads, and other digital technologies. They marry later, have less income, and fewer children, than prior generations did at similar stages of life. And, in late 2015, millennials passed Baby-Boomers …
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The Baby Boomers are retiring! The Baby Boomers are retiring! And only immigration can prevent a decline in our working-age population and, by implication, declines in U.S. GDP and living standards! That is the message contained in a recent Pew Research Center report. According to Pew, the retirement of Baby Boomers will reduce …
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American infrastructure faces two enormous challenges. Much of it was built shortly after World War II, so it is outdated and has been allowed to deteriorate. Equally important: the U.S. population continues to grow, requiring
Continue ReadingYour gift helps publish and distribute materials like this. Click here for a downloadable, printable PDF version THE IMPACT OF U.S. POPULATION GROWTH ON GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE An NPG Forum Paper by Edwin S. Rubenstein EXECUTIVE SUMMARY On the first Earth Day, April 22, 1970, the nation paused to consider the impact of human activity on the global environment. The …
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