Land in the United States is increasingly dominated by people and their settlements. This is due to population growth and greater levels of wealth. Many citizens who can afford it prefer to live outside of dense urban areas. And suburbs require a large network of roads to support them.
A recent study found that U.S. population growth accounted for 52% of the loss of rural land over a 15-year period, while per-capita land consumption accounted for 48%.
It would be difficult to convince citizens that they should lower their expectations of economic improvement. If we want to preserve natural lands for future generations, we’re more likely to succeed by reducing our rate of population growth.
The U. S. population is gains roughly 2.5 million people each year. Some of this is driven by reproduction rates in the resident population. But at about two children per woman, this growth is close to the replacement level. The rest is attributed to immigration.
Of course, everyone in the U.S. once immigrated here. My ancestors came from England and Germany, seeking a better life. The U.S. prides the diverse cultural heritage of its population.
But today’s immigration rates vastly outstrip historical rates. Up until the 1980s, about 300,000 people immigrated legally to the U.S. each year. Since 2000, legal immigrants number approximately one million annually.
These are not numbers one can ignore. We need to ask ourselves some tough questions and realize that immigration is also an environmental issue. If we are to preserve what we value in our landscape, the doors cannot always be open to accept the overflow of population from around the world.
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Photo, taken on April 10, 2006, courtesy of Britt Selvitelle via Flickr.
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Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Support for Earth Wise comes from the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, NY.