Charles Martel
Hall of Famer
- Joined
- Mar 14, 2007
- Messages
- 8,484
The United States Is Already Overpopulated
https://www.fairus.org/issue/population-environment/united-states-already-overpopulated
https://www.fairus.org/issue/population-environment/united-states-already-overpopulated
- Agriculture — Forty percent of all U.S. land area is used as productive land or to support agriculture.8 However, this percentage is declining due to suburban development. Population growth contributes to the annual loss of more than three million acres of farmland.9 Furthermore, agricultural production is increasingly dedicated to fuel production rather than food.
- Biodiversity — Nationwide, an estimated 6,700 species are at risk of extinction.10 Meanwhile, more than 500 known U.S. species are already extinct.11 The human population has now appropriated half of the continental U.S. for its sustenance, leaving native species with increasingly degraded ecosystems.12
- Energy Usage — Increasing energy consumption is closely correlated to population growth. From 1974 to 2007 the U.S. population grew 41.7 percent while total energy consumption grew 37.1 percent.13 The growing release of greenhouse gases and fuel spills related to supplying the inputs for increased energy consumption degrade species habitat and contaminate waterways used for fishing and recreation.14
- Forests — Since European colonization, America’s total forest cover has declined by a third.15 Only about five percent of the country’s original old-growth forests remain, while all other present day forest has been previously logged and is thus younger and less diverse.16
- Land Use — Developed land in the continental U.S. increased 48 percent from 1982 to 2003.14
- Sprawl — Across America, cities are challenged to cope with the effects of over-population-induced urban crowding and sprawl. Yet cities and localities have limited ability to slow growth through zoning and planning. Only the federal government can lawfully adopt measures aimed at stabilizing the population by curtailing mass immigration.17
- Water — The average American uses 550,000 gallons of water annually.18 The decline of water levels has coincided with an increase in water pollution. Nationwide an estimated 40 percent of rivers, 46 percent of lakes, and 50 percent of estuaries are too polluted for fishing and swimming.19,20