Guest viewpoint
John Blake
I am a bit on the wrong side of 80, part of Tom Brokaw’s
”
Greatest Generation.
”
We experienced the Great Depression and fought World War II.
Then, after unprecedented numbers of us attended college, we went
on to expand the economy, bring on agriculture’s green revolution,
participate in the Korean War and initiated the Cold War policies
that defeated Communism.
Guest viewpoint
John Blake
I am a bit on the wrong side of 80, part of Tom Brokaw’s “Greatest Generation.” We experienced the Great Depression and fought World War II. Then, after unprecedented numbers of us attended college, we went on to expand the economy, bring on agriculture’s green revolution, participate in the Korean War and initiated the Cold War policies that defeated Communism.
We believed in ourselves, and our country, and we had perfect faith in the benefits of science and technology and in economic growth. We worked hard and enthusiastically to secure our place in the American Dream. These were good years, a good time to be alive and to live in the USA.
But now I wonder. Ever growing problems plague our society. These include traffic gridlock, expensive housing, struggling schools, overburdened infrastructure, loss of farmland and open space, environmental degradation, depletion of vital resources and erosion of freedom. I fear our grandchildren will not inherit the good legacy we enjoyed.
All these troubles have one major cause in common – excessive population growth, both here and in the world’s poor countries.
Since 1950, in just over 50 years, the U.S. population, now about 300 million, has doubled. At the same time the world’s population, over 6 billion now, has more than doubled. And both keep rising – by about 3 million annually in the U.S. and 80 million worldwide. First, let us consider the situation in this country.
The baby boom after WW II caused a sharp rise in our population. When that slowed in the 1960s, we lifted restrictions on immigration and our numbers began another steep climb that keeps getting bigger. Now immigration, including the high birth rates of recent immigrants, accounts for about 70 percent of U.S. population growth, according to the Census Bureau. In California, the figure is close to 100 percent. All this has happened in just over 50 years, a brief moment in our history.
Immigration has many pros and cons. But let’s recognize that most immigrants are good people. They come here only to better themselves. Life is hard in the overcrowded, underdeveloped nations as populations grow faster than opportunities do. Their people envy our prosperity and security and yearn to come here. And, those who do, except for a few, work hard, obey our laws and contribute much. We cannot fault immigrants themselves. But their sheer number compounds our many troubles.
It is easy to see how our ever-growing population worsens the problems cited above. What is difficult to understand is why the connection with population growth is ignored by the media, our government bodies and even most environmentalists, all of whom give so much attention to the problems themselves, but fail to consider their basic causes.
Two factors underlie this reluctance. First, until recently, anyone who argued to reduce immigration, even for very good reasons, was immediately called racist or bigoted. More important, we have always regarded growth of almost anything – consumption, the economy, population – as desirable. But growth, especially unplanned, out-of-control growth, has limits. We are approaching these limits and must face up to the fact. Growth is like salt on food – some is good, even necessary, but too much is distasteful and spoils the meal.
What to do? First, recognize that overpopulation anywhere is a terrible problem that threatens our very existence, and become concerned – very concerned. The debate beginning over illegal immigration is overdue, but most participants overlook the fact that the sheer number of immigrants is its worst consequence. And hardly anyone gives thought to what drives so many immigrants to our borders – the explosive growth in populations of our world’s poor countries and their people’s desperate struggle for survival. We are now feeling pressures generated by these rising numbers, and unchecked, they could well engulf us like a tsunami.
We have one big hope. Most families everywhere will choose to have fewer children, given the means and knowledge. Education, access to family planning and empowerment of women have proven effective. Thus, with help, poor countries can stabilize and even reduce populations, and do so voluntarily, humanely and at affordable cost. But this will take a generation or more, and time is running out. We need a groundswell of concern to get going, and soon.
John Blake, a retired engineer lives in Hollister, with his wife.
