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Maryland's "Smart Growth" Plan
California's War on the Suburbs
Worrying About Water

COMMENTARY: by NPG President Donald Mann

In writing about the recent financial crisis where everyone saw the problems developing for Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae but no one did anything about them, columnist David Ignatius recently wrote: "But it's one thing to see that a crisis is looming and quite another to mobilize the federal government to do something about it. And these chronic problems were in Washington's 'too hard' file."

Sadly, solving the mortgage problem was too hard for our nation's leaders when they should have done something about it. The American taxpayers are now on the hook for tens of billions of dollars more to bail out banks that overextended themselves and people who should never have been granted a mortgage for a house they couldn't afford. It was somewhat disheartening to watch the TV news this past weekend as House and Senate leaders patted themselves on the back for passing costly bail-out legislation when they could have prevented the entire housing debacle from mushrooming into a crisis long ago.

What does this have to do with population growth? Plenty.

If ever there was an issue that has been easily filed away and ignored because it's too hard to cope with and solve, population growth (and immigration as part of it) fits the bill. President Richard Nixon didn't like the potential political consequences of discussing population control back in 1972 when the Rockefeller Commission presented its report, so he simply shelved it. In recent years, our political leaders have ignored the massive flow of illegal immigrants coming across our southern border. When the pressure finally built to do something about it in 2006 and again in 2007 - they passed on the opportunity. They put it off because it was "too hard." And because of this, the crisis today only grows worse.

And when you even mention to some people - including our political leaders - that we must take action today to keep our nation's population from skyrocketing to a projected 438 million in just 42 years, they are more than content to continue to simply ignore the problem and let it fester. Within only a few years our ballooning population will become a full blown crisis. But right now -- it's "too hard."

Sadly, the "too hard" problems are starting to pile up -- Social Security is a mess, our nation's crucial infrastructure is starting to fall apart, and our energy crisis worsens every day, to name just a few. When did it become good for our nation's leaders to abdicate their responsibility to protect us?

There was once a time in our country when we identified a national problem and went to work fixing it - that's the American way. The environmental crisis of the early 70's comes to mind. Where would our nation be today if everybody back then simply shrugged and said, "It's too hard"?

Today's nationwide and worldwide efforts to reduce global warming are proof positive that we can get tens of millions of Americans working toward a common solution if we have the right leadership. Al Gore has shown the way in educating the public about how we can all work together to take on the problems in the "too hard" file.

In the coming months, as NPG pushes to get legislators on Capitol Hill to endorse our call for the creation of a U.S. Commission on Population Growth, we have to make sure we lay the groundwork for this legislation to get through Congress in a relatively short period of time. That way, a real Commission, complete with some of the best and brightest brains in the country, can get to work to take a serious and studied look at the enormous population problems our nation faces in the not-to-distant future. Hopefully, within a couple of years when the Commission reports back to Congress we will have changed much of the political leadership in this country and replaced those who think planning for the future is "too hard" with those who recognize that immediate action is necessary.


MARYLAND'S "SMART GROWTH" PLAN

The economy may be slowing down but many states are still growing far faster than they want to. For many states it is finally time to get beyond hodge-podge development and look to a future of planned growth.

A recent article in The Washington Post by reporter Miranda Spivack noted that Maryland is considering having the state take the lead on growth and "create a blueprint for what the state should look like two decades from now."

The article noted that Governor Martin O'Malley's office is "concerned about the potential effect of unchecked growth on the water supply, greenhouse gases and the Chesapeake Bay..."

Being cautious not to scare up immediate opposition from powerful special interests such as developers and local officials who would be wary of the state "dictating" new growth policies from Annapolis, the state planning chief, Richard Hall, is quoted as stating that the purpose of a state plan is to "establish guiding principles that discourage sprawl and promote clusters of development near transit, water supplies, schools and other amenities."

Population projections show that Maryland is expected to grow by more than one million people by 2030. One big challenge the state faces is trying to control growth in the 40 mile corridor between downtown Baltimore and Washington, D.C. where an estimated 22,000 jobs are expected to be created in the next few years due to the expansion of Fort Meade military base.

NPG applauds the O'Malley administration for finally starting to take a long view of population growth and development. With the Chesapeake Bay surrounded by some of the fastest growing counties in the nation, any plan that tries to promote denser development near mass transit and works to protect farmland and open space is certainly a step in the right direction. But rather than find ways to cram more people into taller buildings with shopping centers underground, Maryland legislators, as well as all local, state and federal lawmakers, must fully address the fact that we simply have TOO MANY PEOPLE and any solution that does not call for a substantial reduction in both U.S. and world population size is really only a short-term answer to an ever-growing problem. Click on the link above for the full story.


CALIFORNIA'S WAR ON SUBURBS

Will suburbs as we know them be part of California's future? Perhaps not if California Attorney General Jerry Brown gets his way. According to a recent op-ed piece in The Wall Street Journal by Joel Kotkin, Mr. Brown "...sees suburban houses as inefficient users of energy. He sees suburban commuters clogging the roads as wasting precious fossil fuel. And, mostly, he sees wisdom in an intricately thought-out plan to compel residents to move to city centers or, at least, to high-density developments clustered near mass transit."

Brown's unorthodox thinking may well be in tune with that of many Californians who see their state under siege from an exploding population. His political history ranges all the way back to the 70's when he served the state as Governor and most recently during his tenure as mayor of Oakland. Many feel that his current stint as Attorney General is a stepping stone back to the Governor's office.

According to Mr. Kotkin, who serves as a Presidential Fellow in Urban Futures at Chapman University, "Mr. Brown is not above using coercion to create the demographic patterns he wants. In recent months, he has threatened to file suit against municipalities that shun high-density housing in favor of building new suburban single-family homes, on the grounds that they will pollute the environment."

While we respect Mr. Brown's efforts, his solution is a bit short-sighted. Similar to our position on Maryland Governor O'Malley's efforts to promote smart growth, even "smart" growth is STILL GROWTH, and no amount or degree of growth is beneficial to an already overpopulated country. As Mr. Brown focuses on California's future he should take the issue one step further and call for the necessary outcome - a reduction in population size to a truly sustainable level. Click on the link above for the full story.


WORRYING ABOUT WATER

Here at NPG our call to get our leaders to plan ahead may finally be getting attention on Capitol Hill - especially when it comes to future water supplies.

According to an article in the Deseret News, Utah Congressman Jim Matheson has been working to advance legislation that would create a new program in the Environmental Protection Agency to research such things as how to expand supplies through collection and reuse of rainwater and greywater; research water storage and distribution systems; and study social and economic barriers to greater water efficiency. His bill passed the House Science and Technology Committee in mid-July and now goes to the full House.

In explaining his effort Matheson stated, "Nothing is more important to the economic future of the arid West than sufficient supplies of clean water. My bill seeks to ramp up the research and development of those technologies and processes that will help local water managers, local government and residents conserve water, save money and keep the well, so to speak, from running dry."

The committee report on the bill noted that public demand for water has increased 209 percent since 1950, and Americans now use an average of 100 gallons of water per person each day. It also noted that 36 states are anticipating local, regional or statewide water shortages by 2013.

NPG congratulates Congressman Matheson for his actions. We need more far-thinking legislators like him in Congress.


POPULATION AND IMMIGRATION NEWS NOTES

SAVING THE GREAT LAKES WATER

Lake Huron and the other Great Lakes will be safe from being tapped by remote regions or countries under an agreement approved earlier this month by Michigan, the last of the eight states that surround one of the world's largest sources of fresh water. The agreement still needs to be approved by Congress. Canada's provinces of Quebec and Ontario have taken similar action.


FEWER AMERICANS ON THE MOVE

New Census Bureau data released earlier this month showed that movement in and out of cities slowed down last year. Officials are citing the housing bust as a factor in more Americans deciding to stay put - at least for now.

The population growth rate of such sun belt cities as Phoenix, AZ and Orlando, FL slowed a bit as retirees hoping to move to the South are being affected by the slumping housing market. Demographers feel that some people are hesitant to move now in the hopes that housing prices may fall even more while others can't - or won't - unload their present homes at a time when the price of real estate is so depressed.

Another trend noted was that the population of a number of cities - including Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, and St. Paul - are slowly gaining population despite losses in recent years. New Orleans (which lost half its population in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina) topped the list as the fastest-growing (13.8%) as more residents returned. Houston picked up 39,000 new residents and had the largest numeric increase of all cities in the report. The report covered the period July 1, 2006 through June 30, 2007.


IMMIGRATION AT THE BALLOT BOX

A May 2008 poll by the Pew Research Center found that 62% of Republicans say that a candidate's views on immigration is "very important" to how they vote compared to just 48% for Democrats.


A NEW RUSH OF IMMIGRATION LAWYERS

A report in The Washington Post notes that immigration law is the new "hot" topic at law schools nationwide. The increase in interest is attributed to immigration issues being much more visible in the nation's headlines and a "broader explosion of interest in human rights and international law, spurred by today's globally minded students." The fact that many groups are also working to make immigration a continuation of the civil rights movement is also considered to be a magnet for many students to get involved. The Post reports that "membership in the American Immigration Lawyers Association has nearly doubled since 2003, to more than 11,000, 15 percent of whom passed the bar exam in the past three years."


HERE'S YOUR MONEY, NOW GO HOME?

The Wall Street Journal carried an article last week noting that Spain is considering a plan to offer financial incentives for unemployed immigrants to return home. The idea that may be put to a vote next month in parliament would essentially offer legal immigrants who lose their jobs a lump sum payment of accumulated unemployment benefits if they agree to go back to their country of origin. The WSJ notes that Spain has absorbed nearly four million immigrants since 2000 and government figures show that immigrants filled more than half of the 2.6 million jobs created between 2001 and 2005. Much of Europe's immigration flow comes from Africa and the former Soviet Republics.

Here at NPG we certainly hope that our American legislators are not looking to Spain as a role model in solving our immigration crisis.


NPG NOTES

NPG always applauds members who take on a personal leadership role in educating the public about population and immigration issues and this month we especially pleased to salute Howard Bluth of Maryland whose extensive op-ed piece was printed in The Baltimore Sun. Titled: The Impact of Millions of New Arrivals Has Been Missing from the Immigration Debate, Mr. Bluth exposes the downside of legal - not illegal - immigration. Some of the hard-hitting text from Mr. Bluth's article includes the following:

"...the prospect of another 150 million people should be keeping the environmentalists and government officials awake at night. And it should be keeping the rest of us awake as well..."

"Let's not forget that the millions of new immigrants who will be paying taxes and helping sustain Social Security will themselves be retiring someday. Will they require another mass influx of immigration to keep the system afloat?"

"Candidates for public office and government officials must understand and publicly acknowledge that unrestrained population growth is simply unsustainable and that there is no way to effectively address our immigration problem - or our environmental problem or our energy problem - without addressing our population problem."

Remember, if you have an article related to population issues published in your local paper, or even a Letter to the Editor, please send it along to us. Thank you.


QUOTABLE

"The United States faced large and growing budget deficits mostly due to an aging population and rising health-care costs. Unless we solve the problems caused by entitlement spending there will be little money to do anything else in the future. Over time, our standard of living, our national security, our standing in the world and the value of our currency could all be threatened. The sooner we confront these issues, the better."

Ross Perot
June 2008


"With all my experience [in the oil industry] I've never been as worried about our energy security as I am now. Like many of us, I ignored what was happening. Now our country faces what I believe is the most serious situation since World War II."

"The problem, of course, is our growing dependence on foreign oil - it's extreme, it's dangerous and it threatens the future of our nation."

T. Boone Pickens
Texas Oilman


"The fate of Mexican-Americans is crucial to the country. In 1970, only 1 in every 70 children born [in the U.S.] had a Mexican immigrant mother, today it's one in 10. No single foreign country has ever accounted for such a large share of births. Astonishingly, more than have of these mothers half not graduated high school."

Rich Lowry
Nationally syndicated columnist


"One more fast-approaching major change [in addition to wind and solar power] will all but guarantee that curtailment of greenhouse gases becomes an issue of the past: the advent of the electric car. Improvements in battery technology mean that in the next five to 10 years, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles will finally be on our roads. Within the next two to three decades, the gasoline-fired internal combustion engine automobile will no longer be sold..."

"Plug-in hybrids are dramatically cheaper to operate than today's cars. They will consume about 2 cents' worth of electricity to travel one mile, compared to the current 20-to-25 cent cost of driving a mile using gasoline."

James Tisch
Chief Executive of Loews Corp.



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WHY THE NPG JOURNAL?

The NPG Journal (offered free to all recipients) exists to give more widespread distribution to timely news stories and articles related to population, immigration, environmental and political issues that currently affect our daily life -- or have the potential to seriously impact our future.

We realize not all news stories covering population issues will reflect NPG policies and goals. One of our main purposes in creating the NPG Journal is to expose these items to a wider audience, and to draw attention to the fact that so many articles speak to immigration and population issues but often fail to address the central cause of many problems - TOO MANY PEOPLE.

Ultimately, NPG would like to see writers at all levels make the obvious (to us, at least) connection between environmental and resource problems and the growing umber of people in both the United States and the world. Unfortunately, most do not. To that end, we comment as necessary to help our readers see those links in hopes they will continue to speak out on what we deem to be the most pressing issue of our time - population size and growth.

NPG President Donald Mann offers his personal insight and commentary on individual stories, especially those that challenge, confirm and/or complement our NPG Research and Forum Papers. The goal of the NPG Journal is to greatly expand NPG's educational mission. As NPG celebrates its 35th Anniversary we continue to emphasize the need for Americans to speak up on population issues and keep our nation -- especially our elected leaders on the national, state and local level - focused on taking action to help resolve today's immigration crisis and work to halt, and eventually reverse America's out-of-control population growth.

We welcome your feedback to articles posted on the NPG Journal and urge you to forward us the e-mail address of friends you think would like to receive a complimentary copy of the NPG Journal on a bi-weekly basis. Contact us at www.npg.org.


ABOUT NPG

Negative Population Growth, Inc. (NPG) is a national nonprofit membership organization with over 30,000 members nationwide. It was founded in 1972 to educate the American public and political leaders about the devastating effects of overpopulation on our environment, resources, and standard of living. We believe that our nation is already vastly overpopulated in terms of the long-range carrying capacity of its resources and environment.


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