Earth Day is just around the corner, and NPG, the nation’s premier organization devoted to achieving a smaller, truly sustainable, U.S. and world population – is launching an extensive educational campaign to reach millions of Americans, including teens and young adults.

We firmly believe that U.S. population size and growth are two of the most critical, yet often overlooked, elements of the environmental preservation movement. Any progress made within our ecological interests is largely negated because we continue to add millions of additional people to our population each year.

In January, the U.S. Census Bureau announced that “Population growth in the United States has slowed significantly with an increase of only 1.8 million, or 0.5%, between July 1, 2024, and July 1, 2025.” Many media outlets reported that our nation only grew by .5%. That may sound like a small number, but in truth, .5% amounted to more than 1.8 million new people added to our country in only 12 months. That is not a small number by any measure. Worse yet, our rate of growth will likely return to a higher level soon, and the nation will, unfortunately, continue to expand its numbers unless we set out on a more sustainable course.

Every additional person we add to the country requires oxygen, food, water, clothing, and shelter. Despite major accomplishments, our ecosystems remain vulnerable to mounting pressures like population growth, and even the most environmentally conscious person emits harmful gases into the air and consumes some amount of limited and constantly diminishing resources.

While many people believe that recycling, driving an electric car, and eating a vegan diet will save our environment from further destruction, NPG members understand that to truly preserve our fragile ecosystem for future generations, we simply must reduce our numbers.

The enclosed 2026 Earth Day Poster and Student Fact Sheet will help convey these themes to your students. A companion PowerPoint slide deck will be available after you order your printed materials.  I urge you to display the poster on a classroom wall and use the Fact Sheet to guide your lesson on this vitally important day. Please remind your students that U.S. population size and growth are critical elements of any discussion regarding environmental preservation. Without a slow and gradual reduction in our population numbers, our communities and the entire planet are doomed to face even greater environmental chaos.

In addition to working directly with an estimated 1,500 science and social studies teachers in middle and high schools, NPG is also contacting every state governor and hundreds of mayors across the U.S. We urge all of them to include a call for population stabilization in any addresses they give at Earth Day events.

For more information about NPG educational resources please click here.