US Population unsustainable?


The US population hits the 300 million mark and the scare mongers get press
Andrew Buncombe tries to raise the clarion call of panic.

Some American commentators are already saying the landmark is a chance to note the US is perhaps the only country in the developed world where the economy is being bolstered by a population that is growing at a discernable rate. But many experts say passing the 300 million milestone should be a wake-up call that demands a reappraisal of the extraordinary, unparalleled rate of consumption by the world's largest economy and its third largest by population.

As an economic model for the rest of the world to follow - in particular the rapidly developing economies of China and India - it is unsustainable, they say.

On a global scale the average US citizen uses far more than his or her fair share of the planet's resources - consuming more than four times the worldwide average of energy, almost three times as much water and producing more than twice the average amount of rubbish and five times the amount of carbon dioxide, a major contributor to global warming. The US - with five per cent of the world's population - uses 23 per cent of its energy, 15 per cent of its meat and 28 per cent of its paper. Additional population will mean more people seeking a share of those often-limited resources.

This is a classic example of propaganda and I want to take time to look at it carefully.

Four times the worldwide average of energy - This is comparing apples to kumquats. If the average includes everyone from someone starving in Somalia to Paris Hilton, of course the United States uses more energy. That doesn't mean that the US is greedy because it uses more energy. It just means that people in the US have the means to do more.

Same goes for water. This is actually pretty deceptive in itself. Mostly water is reclaimed or ends up back in the water cycle. It's not like the water from Bill Gates bathtub is totally lost and can never be used again.

Of course the US may produce more carbon dioxide, but it is amazing how much certain areas get overlooked. Do Chinese industrial plants providing American products get counted against the United States or China? By the time you factor in another major greenhouse gas, methane, that comes from agriculture, the carbon dioxide hit is not as bad as you have been told.

Uses 23 percent of the energy - Anyone want to look at how much of that power is generated in the United States?

15% of it's meat - Much of which is grown in the United States. Last time I checked, all the other meat consumed in the United States was purchased.

28% of it's paper - Still a lot of this produced in the United States. Personally I am all in favor of hemp paper, lasts longer, cheaper to produce, faster to grow. The paper that isn't used in the United States is bought on the international market.

We're not sending commandos out to seize people's meat and paper, there aren't energy pirates sneaking into Germany to divert electricity from power plants to Michigan. When something comes from outside the United States, it's bought and paid for.

At the same time, demand for these products means that it takes fewer resources to produce the goods. American farmlands produce more crops per acre than they did 50 years ago, and vastly more than much of the world. The technology advanced because people wanted more.

These aren't finite resources we're talking about, and efficiency grows as time goes on.

— NeoWayland

Posted: Wed - October 11, 2006 at 04:32 AM  Tag


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