Population and the Environment

Key Facts & Trends

U.S. population growth, particularly in environmentally sensitive areas, poses a significant threat to the preservation of our environment.   Population growth will:

 

  • Complicate efforts to combat global warming by reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. The U.S. presently accounts for approximately one-quarter of global carbon emissions.
  • Increase the consumption of oil and accelerate the depletion of global oil reserves. The U.S., with 5 percent of the world’s population already consumes about 25 percent of the world’s oil production.
  • Imperil the preservation of America’s wetlands, old-growth forests, and other important bio-habitats—endangering the survival of native plant and animal species.  Nearly 700 species of plants and animals are threatened by destruction of habitat.
  • Accelerate the loss of agricultural lands.  The American Farmland Trust estimates that the U.S. is losing two acres of farmland every minute of every day due to residential and commercial development.  
  • Increase urban sprawl.  As America grows—U.S. population has increased by more than 50 percent in the past 40 years—traffic congestion is worsening.  The 2007 Urban Mobility Report finds that Americans already lose a total of 4.2 billion hours a year in traffic congestion, wasting 2.9 billion gallons of fuel and $78.2 billion each year.
  • Contribute to water shortages and the continuing depletion of water aquifers.  Increased residential consumption of water reduces the amount available for agricultural use.
     
     
     
     
     

Policy Implications

Policymakers must not overlook the long-term environmental impact of a growing U.S. population.

 

  • It may be possible—with greater investments in pollution equipment—to maintain the environmental strides that have been made in improving air and water quality.  It made even be possible—albeit at much greater cost—to make substantial reductions in U.S. carbon emissions.  But adding another 120 million Americans by 2050 will pose a severe environmental challenge.
  • A growing number of environmental leaders believe that America’s anticipated population growth is—in the long-term—unsustainable.
  • U.S. population growth contributes to the demand for, and the depletion of, scarce resources, like oil. It also contributes to the destruction of tropical forests and other critical bio-habitats necessary to the survival of plant and animal species around the world.
     
  •  U.S. population growth and internal migration patterns pose a significant threat to wetlands and other important biohabitats.