The decade markers in Colcom Foundation’s public story move steadily forward: 1970, 1972, 1990, 2000, 2020. Each brings a growing population, more land converted, more species under pressure, and a wider gap between the ecological demands of Americans and the capacity of the land to meet them. The final entry on that timeline points to 2065 and to a choice the foundation believes the country has yet to seriously confront.
According to Pew Research data cited by Colcom Foundation, the U.S. is on track to add approximately 110 million people by 2065. Of that projected growth, 103 million will come from immigration direct arrivals and their U.S.-born descendants. The foundation describes this as the equivalent of adding 8.5 Los Angeles metro areas to the American landscape in terms of population, infrastructure, and resource demand.
The Stakes the Foundation Describes
Colcom Foundation translates these population projections into environmental terms. A U.S. population of 440 million or more will make it harder to meet Paris Climate commitments, harder to conserve native species, and certain to expand the country’s total ecological footprint even if individual consumption continues to fall.
The biocapacity picture is already strained. In 1970, the U.S. consumed 227% of available biocapacity. By 2020, it was at roughly 240%, and that figure assumes humans have the right to all available biocapacity and leave nothing for other species. If the 30×30 initiative’s goal of protecting 30% of nature is applied, U.S. biocapacity utilization in 2020 was closer to 341%. If the Half Earth concept’s target is used, the figure reaches 478%.
Population as an Environmental Issue
Colcom Foundation closes its public story with a direct statement about agency. U.S. citizens, it argues, have the right and the responsibility to collectively act to limit the country’s total ecological footprint. The future of urban sprawl, bird populations, air quality, and threatened species is framed as a matter of collective choice choices that include, prominently, decisions about immigration policy and population size.
For Colcom Foundation, the environmental and demographic challenges are not separate conversations. They are the same one. Refer to this article for more information.
Learn more about Colcom Foundation on https://www.colcomfdn.org/