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Contrast this with the United States, where overpopulation is a growing challenge and some organizations are suggesting policy changes to achieve a smaller, mor

Contrast this with the United States, where overpopulation is a growing challenge and some organizations are suggesting policy changes to achieve a smaller, more sustainable fertility rate. This nonprofit, called NPG, is a pretty interesting and reasonable one; it advocates for the majority of American women to have fewer than three children, and it calls for non-coercive tax incentives that encourage Americans to have smaller families: http://www.npg.org/faq.html http://www.npg.org/faq.html

jonknee 13y ago
There are plenty of examples of over population in the world, but the US is not one of them. Our growth is slowing and there are huge amounts of available land. The country could easily be several times its size in population.
- hawkharris 13y ago
  Your statement about the United States' available land makes the assumption that the American population is evenly distributed across urban and rural areas. In reality, more than 80 percent of the country's population lives in urban areas. The population in those areas grew by 12.1 percent between 2000 and 2010. Just because spacious rural areas exist doesn't mean that Americans are willing or able to move to them. http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/2010_census/cb12-50.html http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/2010_census...
  - yardie 13y ago
    Then which is it? Is the US overpopulated or just the cities you particularly like? Here are a few places in the US that don't have an overpopulation problem: Detroit, Cleveland, Buffalo, Hartford.
    - hawkharris 13y ago
      Those are interesting examples worth discussing, but, as you know, a handful of anecdotes doesn't invalidate national statistics reported by the U.S. Census Bureau.
      - yardie 13y ago
        You said the US was getting overcrowded. Overwhelming evidence says this is hardly the case. Statistics cannot tell you a city is overcrowded, that is a judgement call. And as far as density no city in the US rates even in the top 20.
        hawkharris 13y ago
        Check out some of the sources provided in one of my comments above, including the one that shows growing homeless and food shortages in 21 major American cities, and urban school systems that are 200% over capacity.
- thebooktocome 13y ago
  There is not a huge amount of available fresh water to sustain a population several times the United States' current size.
- joonix 13y ago
  As the labor force moves away from manufacturing to "knowledge-based," I'm not sure why you think population growth will occur in rural areas. Knowledge wants to be near knowledge, growth will continue to be concentrated in large cities.
jvm 13y ago
Wow if the US is overpopulated Germany, with 6x the population density, must be choking on excess humanity! I was there recently though and I can't say I thought it seemed like much of a problem... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sovereign_states_and_dependent_territories_by_population_density http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sovereign_states_and_de...
ilamont 13y ago
Contrast this with the United States, where overpopulation is a growing challenge Could you define "overpopulation" or cite sources that show this is a problem in the United States? While the population has risen more than 50 million people in the last 60 years (1), housing stock, food output, and economic activity, has also risen. In addition, while there are many urban and suburban areas that are more crowded now than they were in the mid-20th century, there are also thousands of small towns and cities that began losing residents long ago (2). 1. http://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=kf7tgg1uo9ude_&ctype=l&strail=false&bcs=d&nselm=h&met_y=population&scale_y=lin&ind_y=false&rdim=country&idim=country:US&ifdim=country&ind=false http://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=kf7tgg1uo9ude_&c... 2. http://www.nytimes.com/1988/08/04/us/dying-rural-towns-play-let-s-make-a-deal.html http://www.nytimes.com/1988/08/04/us/dying-rural-towns-play-...
- hawkharris 13y ago
  More than 80 percent of the United States' population lives in urban areas, and the urban population grew by 12.1 percent between 2000 and 2010. (1) The fact that some towns are underpopulated doesn't mitigate overcrowding in cities because we can't assume that urban families are willing or able to relocate to rural areas. You wrote that "housing stock, food output and economic activity" have risen, but evidence suggests that have not risen at a rate proportional to the population growth in America's largest cities. National Geographic wrote a nice general article about the economic & environmental problems caused by overpopulation, using Fresno, CA, as an example.(2) Some specific examples: New York City's public schools were 200 percent over capacity as of 2008 (3). A 2012 study showed that 21 major American cities had experienced an increase in hunger and homelessness. (4) (1) http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/2010_census http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/2010_census (2) : http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/habitats/urban-threats2/ http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/habita... (3) http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/new-york-city-schools-suffer-massive-overcrowding-statistics-show-article-1.298837 http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/new-york-city-... (4) http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/20/us-usa-economy-hunger-idUSBRE8BJ14I20121220 http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/20/us-usa-economy-hun...
runako 13y ago
NPG is notable for being funded by FAIR, a virulent anti-immigrant group. (Example quote from FAIR founder: "As Whites see their power and control over their lives declining, will they simply go quietly into the night? Or will there be an explosion?")
- hawkharris 13y ago
  I was initially worried about their stance on immigration, too. It was reassuring to see this on their FAQ page: "Immigration (as it relates to population growth) is simply about numbers – not race, ethnicity, skin color, or nation of origin. NPG strongly condemns racism in all its forms."
  - runako 13y ago
    While it's certainly possible to oppose immigration for noble reasons, the documented history of the NPG indicates that this is not the case for this group.

jonknee 13y ago

There are plenty of examples of over population in the world, but the US is not one of them. Our growth is slowing and there are huge amounts of available land. The country could easily be several times its size in population.

hawkharris 13y ago
Your statement about the United States' available land makes the assumption that the American population is evenly distributed across urban and rural areas. In reality, more than 80 percent of the country's population lives in urban areas. The population in those areas grew by 12.1 percent between 2000 and 2010. Just because spacious rural areas exist doesn't mean that Americans are willing or able to move to them. http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/2010_census/cb12-50.html http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/2010_census...
- yardie 13y ago
  Then which is it? Is the US overpopulated or just the cities you particularly like? Here are a few places in the US that don't have an overpopulation problem: Detroit, Cleveland, Buffalo, Hartford.
  - hawkharris 13y ago
    Those are interesting examples worth discussing, but, as you know, a handful of anecdotes doesn't invalidate national statistics reported by the U.S. Census Bureau.
    - yardie 13y ago
      You said the US was getting overcrowded. Overwhelming evidence says this is hardly the case. Statistics cannot tell you a city is overcrowded, that is a judgement call. And as far as density no city in the US rates even in the top 20.
      - hawkharris 13y ago
        Check out some of the sources provided in one of my comments above, including the one that shows growing homeless and food shortages in 21 major American cities, and urban school systems that are 200% over capacity.
thebooktocome 13y ago
There is not a huge amount of available fresh water to sustain a population several times the United States' current size.
joonix 13y ago
As the labor force moves away from manufacturing to "knowledge-based," I'm not sure why you think population growth will occur in rural areas. Knowledge wants to be near knowledge, growth will continue to be concentrated in large cities.

jvm 13y ago

Wow if the US is overpopulated Germany, with 6x the population density, must be choking on excess humanity! I was there recently though and I can't say I thought it seemed like much of a problem... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sovereign_states_and_dependent_territories_by_population_density http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sovereign_states_and_de...

ilamont 13y ago

Contrast this with the United States, where overpopulation is a growing challenge Could you define "overpopulation" or cite sources that show this is a problem in the United States? While the population has risen more than 50 million people in the last 60 years (1), housing stock, food output, and economic activity, has also risen. In addition, while there are many urban and suburban areas that are more crowded now than they were in the mid-20th century, there are also thousands of small towns and cities that began losing residents long ago (2). 1. http://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=kf7tgg1uo9ude_&ctype=l&strail=false&bcs=d&nselm=h&met_y=population&scale_y=lin&ind_y=false&rdim=country&idim=country:US&ifdim=country&ind=false http://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=kf7tgg1uo9ude_&c... 2. http://www.nytimes.com/1988/08/04/us/dying-rural-towns-play-let-s-make-a-deal.html http://www.nytimes.com/1988/08/04/us/dying-rural-towns-play-...

hawkharris 13y ago
More than 80 percent of the United States' population lives in urban areas, and the urban population grew by 12.1 percent between 2000 and 2010. (1) The fact that some towns are underpopulated doesn't mitigate overcrowding in cities because we can't assume that urban families are willing or able to relocate to rural areas. You wrote that "housing stock, food output and economic activity" have risen, but evidence suggests that have not risen at a rate proportional to the population growth in America's largest cities. National Geographic wrote a nice general article about the economic & environmental problems caused by overpopulation, using Fresno, CA, as an example.(2) Some specific examples: New York City's public schools were 200 percent over capacity as of 2008 (3). A 2012 study showed that 21 major American cities had experienced an increase in hunger and homelessness. (4) (1) http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/2010_census http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/2010_census (2) : http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/habitats/urban-threats2/ http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/habita... (3) http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/new-york-city-schools-suffer-massive-overcrowding-statistics-show-article-1.298837 http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/new-york-city-... (4) http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/20/us-usa-economy-hunger-idUSBRE8BJ14I20121220 http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/20/us-usa-economy-hun...

runako 13y ago

NPG is notable for being funded by FAIR, a virulent anti-immigrant group. (Example quote from FAIR founder: "As Whites see their power and control over their lives declining, will they simply go quietly into the night? Or will there be an explosion?")

hawkharris 13y ago
I was initially worried about their stance on immigration, too. It was reassuring to see this on their FAQ page: "Immigration (as it relates to population growth) is simply about numbers – not race, ethnicity, skin color, or nation of origin. NPG strongly condemns racism in all its forms."
- runako 13y ago
  While it's certainly possible to oppose immigration for noble reasons, the documented history of the NPG indicates that this is not the case for this group.