NPG IS PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THE WINNERS OF OUR 2021 ESSAY SCHOLARSHIP CONTEST

NPG
July 9, 2021
Scholarship
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NPG is pleased to offer challenging contests as part of our mission to enlist a new generation of activists who will be focused on calling attention to the dangers of population growth. We send our thanks to all of our members and friends who have so generously contributed, as well as our appreciation for the tens of thousands of students who have competed in our contests. It is your support and participation that make this critical program possible!

2021 Topic
Write a letter to President Biden that highlights why overpopulation must be part of his administration’s discussions concerning our environment, including efforts to curb climate change.

Click on each name to view the text of the winning essay.

Award	Winner Name	School
$5,000 - The Donald W. Mann Memorial Scholarship for Population Studies	Matthew Joseph Doty	University of Notre Dame
$2,500 - The Marjorie Koldinger NPG Memorial Scholarship	Harrison Hall	Liberty University
$2,000	Jack Lee	New York University
$2,000	Angela Yu	Georgetown University
$1,500 - The Marjorie Koldinger NPG Memorial Scholarship	Nicole Giannetta	Ohio State University
$1,500 - The Overpopulation Insights.Com NPG Scholarship	Janathia Renee Henry	Savannah College of Art and Design
$1,500 - Ellen G. Wong NPG Memorial Scholarship	Attalia Harmony Rogers	University of California, San Diego
$1,000 - The Jim & Kay Baccus NPG Scholarship	Allison Laney Barnes	University of West Georgia
$1,000 - The Marjorie Koldinger NPG Memorial Scholarship	Landon Trey Crabtree	Tennessee Technological University
$1,000 - The Overpopulation Insights.Com NPG Scholarship	Akshitha Ginuga	University of Michigan
$1,000 - Ellen G. Wong NPG Memorial Scholarship	Marissa Loraine Kuechenmeister	Ohio University, Athens
$1,000	Eli Kurlander	Indiana University Bloomington
$1,000	Jadon Lau	Northwestern University
$1,000	Toheed Mahmood	Bunker Hill Community College
$1,000	Carly Meulenberg	Olivet Nazarene University
$1,000	Connor Stutz	Hillsdale College

NPG

National parks are overwhelmed with visitors and it’s not just affecting the parks!

Don’t Call It a Crisis: The Natural Explanation Behind Collapsing Birth Rates

$5,000
Matthew Joseph Doty
University of Notre Dame

Dear President Biden,

With heartfelt gratitude, I write to thank you for recognizing the global emergency and national security threat embodied by the climate change crisis. The April 22nd announcement that the United States will achieve “a 50-52 percent reduction from 2005 levels in net greenhouse gas pollution in 2030” reveals that climate truly is the center of US foreign policy. The wisdom in recognizing that our nation’s economic stability is inextricably dependent on mitigating the anthropogenic rise in global temperatures is commendable. However, while American financial independence is crucial for any successful climate mitigation plan, and your plan to develop new markets for clean technology as an industrial incentive is prudent, these mitigations will not alleviate the most significant contributor to carbon emissions which is human population growth.

When analyzing the effects of climate change, the increased carbon emissions attributable to having one additional person in the world are ignored, as is the fact that neither lifestyle changes nor technological efficiencies can balance this increase. In 2009, Paul Murtaugh and his colleagues demonstrated that “just one child can produce 20 times more greenhouse gas than a person will save” by reducing, reusing, and recycling. Similarly, Seth Wynes and Kimberly Nicholas reported in 2017 that the single most significant means for lowering one’s carbon footprint is to have one fewer child. Reducing the size of a family by one is equivalent to an average savings of 58.6 tonnes of equivalent CO2 emission. This savings is 25 times greater than the carbon emission savings realized by living car-free! It seems reasonable that any serious plan to perpetuate the hope and opportunity of the American lifestyle for future generations must incorporate strategies for population stabilization and reversal, also known as negative population growth.

The multiple negative impacts of population growth include the destruction of farmlands, the decimation of natural habitats, and pollution of freshwater sources. Among the most critical to the concern of climate change is the impact on feeding people. The growth in the US population results in 5,400 new people (beyond replacement) per day, which is approximately 2 million people per year. For each new person, one acre of natural habitat or farmland is lost, which means that there are more mouths to feed with less land to grow that food. This exponential increase requires fertilizers to enrich the soil and increase production. However, fertilizers are made from fossil fuels which are among the primary sources of CO2 emissions. This cycle needs to be broken, but the only way to do so is to reduce the population to a sustainable size.

Negative population growth can be achieved by many methods, some more effective than others. For example, history has shown that draconian programs, such as China’s one-child policy, are impractical in sustainably reducing the population and almost certainly would not be tolerated in the United States. However, there are other alternatives. For example, repeated studies have shown that more highly educated women reproduce less frequently. Therefore, it seems sensible to develop programming and policies that support the education of women and incentivizes women to pursue educational goals. I believe such an initiative would be well received and would simultaneously address two critical national concerns.

In summary, negative population growth is critical to a successful plan to combat climate change. As a member of the generation that will be most affected by these changes, I thank you for considering these ideas and implore you to consider ways to stabilize and decrease our national population so that we have a chance of leaving an even better country for our children.

Respectfully,

Matthew J. Doty

$2,500
Harrison Hall
Liberty University

Dear Mr. President,

I am writing first to applaud you for your attention to the much-needed protection of the environment and establishment of climate considerations as an essential element of foreign policy. Maintaining a healthy environment and halting climate change are issues which affect citizens of the United States, as well as every inhabitant of the planet. However, I believe the root cause of these problems is being overlooked and has gone unmentioned in recently proposed executive action – that is overpopulation.

According to the Population Reference Bureau, the world population is projected to reach 9.9 billion by 2050, an increase of more than 25% from the 2020 population of 7.8 billion. Oxfam has predicted that by this time, the earth will be unable to sustain food production to support the growing world population. Environmental issues caused by overpopulation in the United States include disappearing wildlife as well as depletion of natural resources, including water. However, the most significant consequence of overpopulation in the United States is the release of harmful gases from agriculture, industries and vehicles leading to climate change.

To best address these environmental problems, the focus must be in curbing population growth in the United States and around the world. I would like to offer the following suggestions to do so:

Create a commission dedicated to decreasing population growth.
Educate regarding family planning and provide assistance to do so in other countries.
Provide free access to contraceptives in the United States and abroad.
Provide monetary incentive for families to have fewer children.
Reduce immigration into the United States.

In order for a problem to be solved, dedicated people must accept the task. A commission must be established to work towards stabilizing our nation as well as the world’s population to effectively control climate change. Statistics show that in poorer nations, populations are predicted to rise at a greater pace. Because our climate is shared, this issue must be addressed at a global level.

Providing education on the social and health consequences of bearing many children is key. People in all parts of the world must be made aware of and have free and easy access to contraceptives. Additionally, we must educate students by implementing sex education programs in schools as well as funding such programs overseas.

Today in the United States families are given incentive to have more children in the form of tax credits. I propose the child tax credit be limited to two children and greater tax incentives be allotted to families with one or no children.

Lastly, in an effort to curb global warming, the negative effects of immigration into the United States must be acknowledged and addressed. Energy saving technology has reduced per capita CO2 emissions, but emissions continue to rise due to population growth in our country and even more so due to immigrants entering the country. A staggering number of immigrants, often illegal, come to America from countries with very low per capita CO2. They enter the United States, one of the highest per capita carbon producing nations in the world. As such, once in the United States, they themselves greatly increase the amount of carbon they produce.

Overpopulation must be addressed in order to save our beautiful planet for future generations. I implore you, Mr. President, as a world leader, to implement measures in America, along with assisting abroad, in matters concerning population control.

Thank you for your time and your consideration of my proposals.

Sincerely,

Harrison Hall

$2,000
Jack Lee
New York University

Dear President Biden:

I am writing to you today to request you add a concern to your policy discussions on the environment. As a citizen living on the East Coast, watching first-hand as hurricanes transition from occasional events to annual occurrences and being under threat of my hometown being washed away by rising coastal tides, taking care of the environment has long been a priority of mine. That being said, I’d like to start by showing my appreciation of your administration’s active recognition of climate change as a real problem. Undoubtedly, your actions on environmental policy will be a game-changer for the health of our planet. However, I would like to highlight a concern of mine that you don’t seem to talk much about in your environmental plan—overpopulation.

Overpopulation plays a role in the environment in two key ways:

Consuming limited resources like land, nutrients, fossil fuels, and minerals
Releasing waste products including pollutants and greenhouse gases

It’s pretty intuitive—the more people there are on the planet, the more resources will be used—more mouths to feed and more machines to be powered in order to facilitate our lives. This both takes away from the finite pool of resources our limited planet provides and adds to the already overwhelming pollution present in our atmosphere. This can cause strife for many people across the globe. What’s more, the truth is that Americans consume more resources and create more waste than the average global citizen. According to Washington State University, the United States composes only 5% of the global population, yet uses 23% of its energy. The average American also:

Consumes 159 gallons of water per day, while half the world lives on 25 gallons
Generates 52 tons of garbage by age 75
Has the highest carbon footprint at 16 tons, compared to the global average of 4 tons

These numbers are nothing to sneeze at. We as Americans are largely responsible for the changing climate of our planet. As we consume resources and release waste disproportionately more than the rest of the world, we have a heftier duty on our shoulders to serve the globe.

While there are many ways to lower the footprint of the United States, controlling overpopulation can play a pivotal role in limiting our impact on the environment. In 2011, about 45% of the 6.1 million pregnancies in the U.S. were unintended, according to the Guttmacher Institute. This is significantly higher than many other developed countries. This means nearly 3 million extra mouths to feed in an already crowded world. What’s more, these unintended births can be easily prevented by providing easier access to sex education and contraceptives. On another front, over one million immigrants come to the United States each year, according to the Pew Research Center, where they use significantly more resources than they would have in their home countries. Combining both these sources of population growth, America is one of the fastest growing more developed countries, according to the Population Reference Bureau.

Both these factors in population growth are preventable. President Biden, I hope you take these concerns to heart and add them to your discussions on the environment. We all want a brighter future, if not for ourselves then for our children. It is about time America limits the luxury it enjoys at the expense of the rest of the world.

Sincerely,

Jack Lee

$2,000
Angela Yu
Georgetown University

Dear President Biden,

In the midst of your public response to the COVID-19 pandemic and gun violence attacks, overpopulation has been pushed to the bottom of the national agenda. While it may seem counterproductive to address population growth at a time of somber death counts, the issue has an urgent time limit. The complexity of overpopulation has largely been simplified by politicians and the news media as the sinister perpetrator of housing and job shortages. However, the true impact of an unsustainable population manifests itself in every policy issue, especially in the area of environmental preservation. The increased demand for natural resources from fossil fuels to lumber has only accelerated the progress of climate change and resulted in the loss of countless species.

The world population has grown at a staggering rate in the twentieth century; in 2010, it reached 7 billion and is projected to hit 9 billion by 2045. In the United States, new immigration policy proposed by your administration would lead the way for further population growth. Other factors such as the culture of overconsumption and lack of family planning education contribute to the urgent issue as well. The result is an extreme degradation in quality of life, especially for underprivileged families; limited natural resources has made fulfilling basic human rights such as access to clean water and adequate shelter an increasingly impossible task.

At its root, overpopulation is an environmental crisis that has been in the making since the global industrial revolution. Unsustainable population growth and climate change are closely intertwined issues that fuel each other. In short, a greater population creates an increased demand for automobiles, electricity, and other goods produced with fossil fuels. Carbon dioxide emissions from human activity accelerate global warming, leading to increased intensity of flooding and droughts. Frequent natural disasters coupled with poor farming practices have led to the erosion of valuable farm soil. From 1982 to 2015, the area of USDA defined prime farmland shrank by 25.8 million acres. The lack of healthy soil leaves the land more vulnerable to floods and droughts, which in turn worsen erosion. This vicious cycle has made feeding the growing population an extremely unsustainable process.

As a teenager growing up in the United States, I have witnessed the impacts of overpopulation in my community. I volunteer for my county’s Department of Environmental Protection where we work to address the negative consequences of increased population density. Despite the department’s best efforts to host stream cleanups and promote recycling habits, our waterways have grown more polluted, causing vital organisms to slowly die off. While we clean up litter from parks, massive condos are built across the street, bringing more waste production from its residents. I’ve faced the realization that I might spend the rest of my life watching the environment decay around me in order to accommodate human inhabitants.

For the sake of future generations, I urge you to address overpopulation as part of the United States’ efforts to combat climate change. Population control must be integrated into all domestic and international policies regarding environmental protection. Measures to curb population growth should be written into global warming treaties. In addition, promotional campaigns must be developed to educate Americans on the devastating consequences of the current population trend. Research surrounding overpopulation has already been progressed by groups such as Negative Population Growth. All that’s left to do is listen to the data and take governmental action to tackle the issue head on.

Thank you for taking the time to hear from an American youth fighting for her generation’s future.

Sincerely,

Angela Yu

$1,500
Nicole Giannetta
Ohio State University

Dear President Biden,

The time to take action against overpopulation is right now! This impending and urgent issue in our country has been overlooked for far too long, and if action is not taken immediately, when will change ever be made? It is critical to put this issue at the forefront of your administration’s discussions regarding the environment, specifically climate change.

According to the United States Census Bureau, between the years 2017 to 2060 the United States population is expected to grow from 326 million to around 404 million people. This averages an increase of around 1.8 million people per year. Furthermore, there is a projected annual population growth of 0.7 percent in the U.S. during the 2020s. This number is substantially larger than other developed countries such as Japan, whose population is decreasing, and Eastern European countries, whose populations are also projected to decrease.

The United States only has a finite amount of land, and our population cannot continue to grow forever. It is important to stabilize our population to sustain our way of life and preserve the environment, because some of the most devastating effects of overpopulation have already begun to affect us. One of the largest consequences of overpopulation is increased water pollution and decreased access to clean water. Less than 1% of freshwater is readily accessible for use. However, according to the “Global Outlook for Water Resources to the Year 2025,” by 2025 around half of the world will be facing water-based vulnerability. Furthermore, we will soon be facing a global water crisis as fresh water is being consumed ten times faster than it is being replenished in several major countries, including the U.S. With a lack of fresh water also comes the threat of extinction for many species that inhabit freshwater ecosystems. According to the World Conservation Union, 34% of fish species are in danger of extinction. Most of these species live in freshwater.

Another major consequence of overpopulation is an increase in intensive farming, a practice that yields more output per unit of agricultural land. This technique poses a huge threat to the environment, killing plants and insects, negatively affecting marine life due to polluted runoff, decreasing biodiversity, and increasing deforestation.

Lastly, one of the most detrimental effects of overpopulation is the exhaustion and exploitation of natural resources. There is only a limited number of resources on the planet, and with the number of humans growing, the deficit of natural resources is also growing. The unrestrained use of natural resources has led to an increase in the emission of greenhouse gases, which has extensive effects. Not only does an increase in greenhouse gases result in mass extinction and deforestation, it also causes global warming. Climate change is one of the single biggest threats to our planet. The United States alone accounts for five percent of the world’s population, while contributing around one quarter of all carbon dioxide emissions, a harmful greenhouse gas. The Global Population and Environment Program at the Sierra Club said, “As developing countries’ contribution to global emissions grows, population size and growth rates will become significant factors in magnifying the impacts of global warming.” Despite the many individual choices that people make to reduce their carbon footprint, these efforts are being undermined by uncontrolled population growth.

Our planet is the most finite resource we have, and it has become increasingly clear that overpopulation is one of the greatest threats to the environment. I am urging you, President Biden, and your administration to take action starting today to combat this global crisis.

Sincerely,

Nicole Giannetta

$1,500
Janathia Renee Henry
Savannah College of Art & Design

Dear President Biden,

The population is out of control. So much so that not even two Earths would be enough to sustain everyone. The United States alone surpassed a tenable population years ago. If we continue to act as though the resources the planet has to offer are not limited, we will be in for a rude awakening. Deforestation, water pollution, and climate change are just a few issues to name that we are facing, which is why I am writing to urge you to consider overpopulation as one of the leading causes. Earth is a planet full of consumers, and yes, the Earth does give, but what happens when people take more than it can provide?

The population of the United States is expected to grow from 326 million (as of 2018) to 404 million by 2060. This influx of people will call for more land to be acquired, meaning clearing more trees to build over. As a result, the natural habitats of animals would be disrupted and destroyed. Not only will deforestation contribute to climate change, but it will also be a factor in other environmental problems such as soil erosion. Soil erosion will result in dry land, making it arduous to grow crops and feed an ever-increasing population. The dry land would also mean less space for farmlands and a decrease in water quality.

Unfortunately, this will create more trouble as our rivers, lakes, and oceans are already deteriorating in quality. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average American produced 4.9 pounds of waste per day in 2018. Multiply this by 326 million and add on the millions of children born within the past two years, and you’ve got yourself yet another environmental issue caused by overpopulation. Many of these wastes find their way into our waterways, making removal difficult. The bigger the population, the bigger the consumption, the waste, and the pollution. This kind of pattern has also actively contributed to the threat of climate change. Nonrenewable energy sources are used to satisfy this excess population’s need for energy. As a result, carbon emissions and the burning of fossil fuels have increased, and the gases will most likely last thousands of years in the atmosphere. Due to this, the Earth is getting warmer and excessive industrialization and amplified greenhouse gasses are making it hotter!

Efforts to reduce population growth (in addition to developing sustainable technologies and encouraging sustainable lifestyles) would require you to implement new strategies. Provide free and universal access to sexual and reproductive health care, including contraception, to people of all socioeconomic backgrounds. Birth rates will decrease if education and family planning services are supported. At the same time, encourage adoption as an alternative, thus assisting thousands of children who are currently without a family. Push Americans to place a greater emphasis on the quality of life offered to children rather than the number of children brought into the world.

I believe it is best if these strategies are marketed in such a way that Americans do not feel forced to participate, but rather protected if they do. We must try to reduce the population to a sustainable level. A larger population would only result in more pollution and deforestation to the point of detriment. If we do not lower and ultimately reverse the population growth, we will only continue to use up the scarce resources we are already stretching out to depletion. I genuinely hope you incorporate a way to restrain overpopulation in your plans, not only for the sake of the planet but the human race.

Sincerely,

Janathia Henry

$1,500
Attalia Harmony Rogers
University of California – San Diego

Dear President Biden,

Overpopulation is a very important matter that must be included in your administration’s discussions concerning our environment. I am certain you are aware that when you took office, the population in the United States was over 330 million. And I use the word was, because that number has increased since the population in the United States grows over 1.6 million people each year. The bottom line is our renewable resources can only sustain a population of 150 million people. So what about the other 180 million who are impacting the environment? Something has to be done, Mr. President, because this is not a viable scenario when you take into account consumption levels due to overpopulation.

The population is consuming renewable resources at a rate that is twice as fast as can be regenerated. We have less land to grow food. Greater greenhouse gas emissions, as well as increasing land, water, and air pollution pose threats to the environment. And global warming is a dangerous byproduct. Overpopulation leads to less open land – not to mention the destruction of habitats and species loss. Contrary to what some say, climate change is real and we have to do something while we can. Your administration has to begin seriously discussing how to move forward to combat these ever-growing challenges.

Climate change is taking a toll on our environment, to say the least. Weather patterns are changing across every region in this country. Some of the most severe weather events have been occurring in recent years and continue to increase in severity. Across this nation, we have had more severe heatwaves, droughts, floods, and fires than seen in history. With climate change even the availability of our freshwater is declining. Many ecosystems are either being destroyed or becoming uninhabitable, which ultimately threatens food production. A couple of solutions include ending fossil fuel use and developing alternative energy – i.e., solar farms and electric vehicles. Even though your administration should discuss ways to reduce emissions, if we want to more permanently affect climate change, we are going to have to discuss ways to tackle overpopulation. We cannot take one step forward with regard to climate change and two steps back as it relates to overpopulation.

To reduce the number of people automatically means to reduce future emissions. We have to educate people about ways they can help the environment. One solution is to encourage people to have smaller families. If people had just one fewer child, scientists claim this would be the most effective and immediate way to combat climate change. Therefore, family planning services should be one aspect of the discussions. Reducing the family size and slowing the population growth gives everyone the best chance of limiting climate change and protecting Earth for the next generation.

Simply put, we have to take much better care of Earth so that there is even any Earth left for our children and grandchildren. Your administration’s discussions should center around accomplishing two things. One, we need to curb climate change, and two, we need to slow the population growth. If we can successfully accomplish these two overarching tasks, we stand a better chance of helping the environment and leaving more of a sustainable future for generations to come.

Sincerely,

Attalia H. Rogers

$1,000
Allison Laney Barnes
University of West Georgia

Dear President Biden:

Congratulations on your election to the office of President of the United States. It is my belief that two of the many reasons you were elected are your stance on climate change and human rights.

I am writing this letter to let you know about my concern for overpopulation and its effect on climate change and the environment. I believe that it is the fundamental human right of all children to have an equal start in life. However, I also believe that overpopulation around the globe will have an adverse effect on our environment and climate. There is a close link between population and climate change as every additional person increases the amount of carbon emissions. More people mean a greater demand for oil, gas, coal, and other fuels which only adds to the greenhouse gases.

Many of the negative changes to our climate and environment are caused by deforestation so that land can be converted to agricultural use in order to feed the growing population. Global warming is a current threat to us all as it changes weather patterns, causes heat waves, floods, and droughts. The shrinking of glaciers and ice caps is also caused by climate change and affects the amount of available fresh water, destroys aquatic ecosystems, contributes to the rise of sea levels, and causes the extinction of some species. Poor crop yields are usually the result of soil degradation, and this is especially critical for poorer populations.

Countries like America contribute greatly to all the problems listed above. Industrial development, population growth, and dangerous environmental problems tend to go hand in hand. We are looking at the possibility of global conflicts over safe drinking water and food production if conditions do not change. Therefore, I believe that you can be a leader of great change. Please consider the following actions as you develop your plan for moving forward:

Family planning should be made available to everyone. Currently, 40% of U.S. children live in poverty (Dillard, 2020). According to Dillard (2020), unequal opportunities become unequal lifelong outcomes.
Family planning could be used to educate the population about health issues as well as population growth. We need to be concerned with building for the future through more resilient generations.
Poor family planning hurts public health, creates overcrowding, contributes to environmental problems, and to the spread of diseases like Covid -19 (Dillard, 2020).
If each family would have one fewer child, population growth would decline. However, this does not mean reducing the birthrate in certain groups of people but reducing it through information and resources.
There is a need to improve the health of women and children and to develop full gender equity.

Working with both parties of Congress and with other world leaders can lead to a brighter tomorrow for our planet if we all concentrate on what is best for our world.

Thank you for your leadership and your consideration of my concerns about overpopulation, the environment, and climate change.

Sincerely,

Allison Laney Barnes

$1,000
Landon Trey Crabtree
Tennessee Technological University

Dear President Biden:

Firstly, I want to thank you for taking your time to read this letter. During your campaign trail, you promised a “clean energy revolution.” A revolution that would not only boost the U.S. energy sector and create jobs, but help both the United States and the world get off the current track of irreversible climate change as a result of the surplus of carbon dioxide being emitted into the air. Not only did you promise a clean energy revolution: you delivered with Executive Order 13990: “Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science To Tackle the Climate Crisis.” While I am extremely grateful to have a President who takes the future of our world and mankind into serious account, I am hesitant to believe that just a clean energy revolution will do justice for the future concern of our environment.

While climate change does play a fundamental role in the altering of our environment, it is not the only factor. This is the only Earth that we have, and we must preserve the resources on it. There is only so much we humans can do before decimating the Earth and leaving it bare and desolate. At our current rate, there have been: 32 billion tons of resources extracted, 15 billion tons of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere, 273 billion tons of ice melted, and 146 million tons of hazardous waste thrown out — just this year alone. Not only this, but according to estimates there are 26 years left until the end of seafood and 78 years left until the end of rainforests. This means that within two to three generations, the world as we know it will be fundamentally changed. My children’s children, my grandchildren, will live in this world.

And this is all at our current rate. As of May 14, 2021, the Earth’s population is 7.76 billion people. There are four babies born every single second, 385,000 every day, and 140 million a year. Projections show the world population being 8 billion by 2023, 9 billion by 2037, and 10 billion by 2057. As the population continues to exponentially grow, so will the resource consumption and energy output. As more land is needed, deforestation will wipe out species across the globe. As fertilizers make their way into bodies of water, eutrophication will kill aquatic life. More and more humans will create more demand than there is supply, and exhaust Earth’s resources.

Because of this, I urge you to recognize the importance that our population plays on the environment and efforts to curb climate change. While I do believe that legislation such as EO 13990, The Paris Agreement, and The Green New Deal are a step in the right direction to mitigating the risks of permanently altering effects on the environment, I believe that they are missing a solution to one of the biggest causes of climate change: overpopulation. What is the point of preventing and resolving climate change if human life will cease to exist because of the detrimental impact humans are leaving on the environment? Who will be there to celebrate that we curbed climate change when the human species has gone extinct (or moved) because the Earth has become an uninhabitable wasteland?

In order to truly commit to the protection of public health, the environment, and the future sustainability of our planet, I believe that the Biden-Harris administration must consider overpopulation as a quintessential factor in the administration’s plans on environmental policy— not only for our nation, but the whole world.

Thank you for your time,

Landon Crabtree

$1,000
Akshitha Ginuga
University of Michigan

Dear President Biden,

My name is Akshitha Ginuga, and I am a recently naturalized citizen of the United States. I come from a place of vibrant culture but little space to grow said culture. In my home country, uncontrolled growth is facing adversity with few solutions. While I am aware that the United States is many shy of the nearly one billion people of my birth nation, overpopulation is always a risk.

Some make broad claims that overpopulation is a benefit to society. They may argue that the future will need more workers and bolster that large populations sustain strong economies. What this school of thought discounts is the enormous strain placed on the resources of the United States. Natural resources like land, water, and energy are already facing stress in many regions.

In our current state, our climate is in a state of catastrophe. As oceans acidify, air quality plummets, ice caps melt, and weather patterns grow erratic, we must remember the root cause: humans. We have created unsustainable lifestyles and continue to pass down these habits. As your administration orients around climate protections, overpopulation must be addressed.

I admire your administration’s dedication to creating a shift to renewable energy in recognition of the climate crisis. While the shift to renewable energy is certainly helpful, the amount of energy consumed is just as important to consider. In the United States, we account for just below 17% of the world’s energy usage. Those numbers are expected to continue to climb. Without intervention, a significant population increase will pose a threat. The reality is that the renewable effort will take time, and in the meantime, fossil fuel reliance will continue. The conversation regarding our environment needs to discuss population growth.

A growing trend in the United States is water and food insecurity. Environmental factors have created areas of the United States that do not have access to healthy food. These food deserts are areas with weak crop diversification and places where food is simply too expensive. Many rely on unhealthy food that has a long list of climate and health issues tied to it. Beyond that, scientists have identified that the water supply may decrease by a third in as little as fifty years. These shortages will likely affect more than just states with historic water shortages but will span across the United States. Increased demand for water caused by considerable population growth would exacerbate this issue. Unfortunately, the United States is not able to weather sizeable changes.

It is important to recognize the relevance of population growth created by migration and birth rates. Immigrants like myself provide the nation with diversity and unmatched skills just as citizens born here do. Instead, the issue lies in unchecked growth.

Mr. President, I ask as a citizen of the United States that you include overpopulation in discussions of environmental health. We are on the brink of environmental catastrophe. Encouraging significant growth is an unsustainable option, and economic strength cannot justify the sacrifice of the environment.

Our allies are battling with high populations while working against climate change. Many struggle to find a balance and legislate policies that are extensive enough to address root causes like the status of women and the lack of environmental protections. Unlike that, the United States is in a place to prevent extreme growth and protect our natural environment and resources.

I believe that the United States values human life, and we must protect this place we call home.

Best,

Akshitha Ginuga

$1,000
Marissa Loraine Kuechenmeister
Ohio University – Athens

Dear President Biden,

Your climate change plan is a monumental step in the right direction for this country. Reducing carbon emissions and fossil fuel usage will help ensure the prosperity of our beautiful country. That being said, we need to do more to fight our climate crisis. As of May 2021, the US population sits at roughly 332.7 million. The population has more than doubled within just 71 years. In 1950, it reached 152.3 million. Our renewable resources and waste absorption can only sustain 150 million, where we were in 1950. This is incredibly alarming news, as we are far beyond the threshold. As a country, we must work towards negative population growth.

As the population grows, so does the need for food. More must be produced at a faster rate, and more land is allocated for agriculture. This leads to over-farming: soil over-saturated with fertilizers, causing damage to the soil structure. More land requires more water, and according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 80 percent of water consumption is already used for agriculture. Irrigation is used to move this abundant amount of water to expansive stretches of land. Unfortunately, irrigated areas can become waterlogged, which kills crops. Irrigation also impacts surface air temperature and pressure, atmospheric conditions, rainfall patterns, erosion and deforestation.

As previously mentioned, agriculture also leads to deforestation. More trees are being removed than we can ever possibly replace. On the surface, animal habitats seem to be the most effected. Nevertheless, effects can be felt in the atmosphere as well. These trees help regulate the amount of carbon and water in the atmosphere. Deforested areas contain less water in the air to be returned to the soil. The soil then becomes arid, no longer supporting crops. Soil also becomes unanchored and can easily erode into nearby bodies of water. Erosion is just one more way we lose fertile soil.

A higher population requires higher energy usage. As of 2019, 80% of this energy came from fossil fuels. Obtaining coal, crude oil, and natural gas means more destroyed land and habitat loss. Coal mining specifically contributes to water pollution, as acid runoff and unwanted rock and soil are discarded into streams. Oil spills pollute drinking water and harm ecosystems. In direct relation to climate change, the burning of fossil fuels results in the production of carbon dioxide. These carbon emissions contain heat in the atmosphere, warming the earth.

It’s clear that if America remains on the same track the state of our environment will only decrease. We’re currently destroying the Earth as we attempt to sustain our current population. Researchers and scientists alike agree that an increasing population will only worsen the situation and eventually lead to downfall. To save our land, our trees, our animals, our atmosphere we need you. We need you to work towards negative population growth. America needs you to slow the population growth and help save our country.

Sincerely,

Marissa Kuechenmeister

$1,000
Eli Kurlander
Indiana University Bloomington

Dear President Biden,

During your presidential campaign, you made the fight against climate change a pillar of your platform. As you have repeatedly highlighted, climate change, which is an existential threat to humanity, has catastrophic consequences for the future of humans, wildlife, and our planet. Mitigating climate change and its disastrous effects requires creative and bold solutions; it is imperative that part of those solutions address overpopulation.

Overpopulation is undeniably a contributor to climate change, and discussions about climate change and its solutions are incomplete without discussions about overpopulation and its contribution to the climate crisis. Overpopulation is defined as having a population so dense as to cause environmental deterioration, an impaired quality of life, or a population crash. Currently, the Earth’s population is 7.674 billion people and rapidly growing (LeBlanc). Since 1900, the planet’s population has increased by roughly 374.5%, and by 2100, the planet’s population is projected to reach approximately 11 billion people (LeBlanc). This rapid increase in the planet’s population has led to overpopulation, which is a phenomenon with dire repercussions for the environment and the fight against climate change.

The relationship between the environment and overpopulation is complex, with overpopulation contributing to various environmental problems. Firstly, overpopulation is associated with deforestation as more people equates to an increased need for wood products and additional land for agriculture. Deforestation resulting from overpopulation has a plethora of negative environmental consequences, including habitat loss and the release of planet-warming carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change (Baus). Furthermore, overpopulation contributes to increased meat consumption as more people means more meat is consumed. Meat consumption is a key contributor to climate change and various environmental problems as animals, such as cattle, release methane, a greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere (LeBlanc). Meat production also necessitates the destruction of habitats and deforestation to allow for additional pastures (LeBlanc). As previously mentioned, deforestation adds carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and leads to a reduced ability for the planet to capture greenhouse gases (Baus). Lastly, overpopulation means more people, and more people lead to more greenhouse gases that are released into the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases, which are a major contributor to climate change, trap heat in the atmosphere and warm the planet (Marx). Rapid population growth has resulted in an increased demand for oil, coal, and other fossil fuels, and thus, has led to an increase in the release of potent greenhouse gases into the atmosphere (Marx). The evidence overwhelmingly holds that overpopulation directly contributes to innumerable environmental problems including deforestation, increased meat production and consumption, and most importantly, an increase in the emission of greenhouse gases. These environmental problems exacerbated by overpopulation are major contributors to climate change, and because of this, solutions to curb climate change and address environmental problems must address overpopulation as well.

Mr. President, it is incumbent upon your administration to address climate change and overpopulation. Fortunately, solutions including the implementation of comprehensive reproductive health care policies, such as improved family planning services, affordable maternal health care, and comprehensive education about overpopulation exist. Through the implementation of these and other necessary solutions, overpopulation, a key contributor to climate change and environmental destruction, can be addressed to ensure a safe and healthy planet for future generations.

With hope for a sustainable future,

Eli Kurlander

$1,000
Jadon Lau
Northwestern University

Dear President Biden:

This is my first time writing to a person of your stature, and I greatly appreciate the time you have taken to read this message throughout its entirety. I hope to bring light to an issue that I believe is paramount to the survival and quality of life for all Americans. While I understand many issues of great importance are constantly on your mind, I believe our rising population is one that is of immediate concern.

While a thriving country often has a growing population to match it, the excessive growth that has been plaguing the U.S. for decades has impacts that threaten the quality of life and economic sustainability of all Americans. Putting an end to our strong population growth may appear to be taking steps backwards, but really, it is the only ethical way forward. Despite the benefits that come with more workers strengthening America’s powerful manufacturing and economic might, too many citizens crowd out workers of the next generation and will wreak havoc on our environment and economic footprint.

You have stated in your Presidential Vision to “Tackle the Climate Emergency” and “Tackle Climate Change,” both of which are directly affected by the exponential increase in the American population. A strong economy cannot last without the resources required to make the very building blocks it is built on. Currently, there are around 330 million Americans. Studies have shown that with our current resources, America can support less than half of that, at just 150 million (World Population Balance). To add, in forty years, the U.S population is predicted to reach over 400 million people (Statista). In a survey taken by the USDA in 2019, close to 15 percent of all U.S. households either had insecure or low food security. This number is sure to increase as our population puts an ever-increasing burden on America’s agriculture and infrastructure systems. These effects will ripple throughout all of American society, having irreparable impacts on the very livelihood of many citizens. By 2060, we are on track to exceed the current physical limitations of the ground we live on by almost three times. What will happen when clean water and food shortages occur? When the cost-of-living increases to astronomical heights? When unclean air and congestion become normal life?

Is this the America you want?

Not for me. If we do not take action now, this future will soon become a reality. While the procedures taken to reduce our carbon footprint and finding novel renewable energy sources are small steps forward, there are more direct actions you can take now to secure America’s future.

One of the ways to effectively curb the population growth is to clamp down on immigration. Currently, there are more than 1 million immigrants who come to the U.S. every year (Pew Research). Moreover, too many illegal immigrants sneak through the borders, threatening not only our economic viability, but also the credibility of those whose aim is to protect American citizens. In order to achieve the goal of stopping the population growth, as president, you can push for legislation that will strengthen our borders and cut down on the majority of immigrants allowed in per year.

Another solution would be to encourage adults to have a maximum of two children. This can be achieved in various ways, including introducing education that would inform citizens of the benefits of smaller family sizes, cutting tax benefits for families with more than two children, and increasing the know-how and ability to access affordable birth control.

These solutions are just a few of many, and a plethora of others exist to support this cause. I am looking forward to the rest of your presidency and am sure you will make the best choices not only for the now, but also the future generations to come.

Sincerely,

Jadon Lau

$1,000
Toheed Mahmood
Bunker Hill Community College

Dear President Biden:

Last year during the coronavirus pandemic, bodies of water such as the canals of Venice were crystal clear after decades, skylines of megacities across the world were visible for once, and animal populations of various species increased. However, these environmental benefits came at the catastrophic pain of millions of people in the form of societal changes, political upheavals, and economic pressures.

Today, I write to you about an issue which concerns the livelihood of not just every American, but of every human. Climate change as a result of global warming is a reality we already face in its various forms such as forest fires, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, natural resource depletion, degradation of environments, and extinction of species—with the worst yet to come. However, even with the drastic yet temporary transformations of society during the coronavirus pandemic, carbon dioxide emissions only fell 6.4% in comparison to the yearly 7.6% decrease needed to curtail only the worst impacts of climate change. The conclusion? The coronavirus pandemic is proof that even our best current efforts are insufficient to combat climate change: new approaches are necessary.

As with treating viruses, the goal to solving problems should be to treat the disease and not the symptoms. Fundamentally, climate change is a result of human activity. A guaranteed method of reducing climate change is to prevent overpopulation. This would have even more environmental benefits than what occurred during the pandemic without the immense costs to human life. Furthermore, this is in addition to the variety of other societal benefits through avoiding issues such as resource shortages of food or water, unhygienic living conditions, increased crime rates, and mass migrations. All of this is because of the fact that the best way to solve problems is to prevent them from occurring in the first place.

However, talking about problems can only get us so far; it is the solutions which create change. Hence, I urge that your administration consider the following actions:

Ensure that whatever solutions are partaken, that the United States uses its considerable resources and power to help other nations follow in our footsteps. For creating such change cannot be done alone; it is a collective effort put forth by each nation.
Implement and enforce stricter immigration policies. Because the unfortunate reality is that 1 million immigrants are added to the population each year and, at current rates, the Pew Research Center calculates that 82% of the U.S. population increase by 2050 will be due to immigrants.
Improve sex education, access to contraceptives, and access to family planning resources. For 44% of all pregnancies are unintended, only 61% of those end in abortion, and the annual cost of unintended pregnancies in the U.S. is $5 billion.
Provide incentives, implicit or explicit, for families with less children.

Enacting on overpopulation and climate change now is our best solution to prevent further existential harms. To this day, U.S. government policy has been one of accountability, and right now the U.S. still has a chance to take action in order to stay true to its principles. For the transgression of our principles would be an even greater loss.

Sincerely,

Toheed Mahmood

$1,000
Carly Meulenberg
Olivet Nazarene University

Dear President Biden,

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. I appreciate your open-mindedness in hearing about the issues that impact our nation and our world, such as overpopulation. Just a decade ago, humanity’s population was viewed as a time bomb: humans only had a few hundred years before the earth was completely depleted. In recent years, the population rate has decreased, leading many to think that overpopulation is not a relevant or impactful issue; however, there is still strain on the environment from overpopulation and potential for tremendous catastrophe (Nierenberg).

Overpopulation has many negative effects on the environment. Humans destroy habitats, demolish forests, and encroach on the habitats of animals in search of farmland, space, and resources. In addition to a dwindling amount of farmland and food source, half of the world’s original forests are gone, destroyed and depleted to satisfy the needs of the monstrous human population (Nierenberg). Another necessary element that is decreasing at an alarming rate is water: the lifeblood that causes our earth to pulse and move. According to the environmental group The Sierra Club, more than 386 million people around the world face a scarcity of water, as overpopulation depletes reservoirs that will never be replenished (“Global Population Growth”). Overpopulation is exhausting necessary human resources and destroying the environment.

In addition to having disastrous effects on the environment, overpopulation directly correlates to the increase in climate change, as well as the catastrophic ramifications that come with it. Many people ignore the role overpopulation plays in climate change. The average amount of Carbon Dioxide produced around the world per person is 4.8 tonnes, but every person in the United States produces an average of 16.2 tonnes of C02 per year, which is over three times the global average (Roser, Hannah Ritchie, and Max). Multiply 16.2 by 330 million and you have an astonishing number that highlights the unbelievable amount that the United States contributes to climate change.

The climate change to which the United States is contributing wreaks havoc on our world: dwindling amounts of resources, destructive changing weather patterns, and declining habitats for animals. According to an IPCC report sent out in 2018, the world must take drastic action to combat climate change (“Climate Change”). This report pleaded to the world to take this issue seriously and to act before 2030, before irreversible damage is done to the world’s ecosystems (“Climate Change”).

Electric cars and solar panels are not sufficient munitions in the ferocious war against climate change; lawmakers must address the issue of overpopulation. As the earth’s population continues to grow, resources will be depleted and CO2 output will increase. The earth’s temperature will rise and ecosystems will continue to suffer. Crops will fail, forests will burn, sea levels will rise, and humanity will continue to travel in a frightening direction. Do not ignore the important role that the human population plays in the fight against climate change and in the fight to save our planet. Billions of expectant eyes from the United States and around the world are watching you and waiting expectantly to see how you will respond. It is crucial that your administration creates policies that will curb the alarming rate of population growth in our country, which will then be a sign to the rest of the world. It will be a sign that we as Americans care: we care about our country, we care about humanity, and we care about our world. President Biden, the time to act is now, before it is too late.

Sincerely,

Carly Meulenberg

$1,000
Connor Joseph Stutz
Hillsdale College

Dear President Biden,

Your plan to reach net zero carbon emissions as a nation by 2050 will certainly help drive the United States in a positive environmental direction. This goal can reduce the nation’s effect on global warming and will hopefully set an example for other countries to do the same. However, this is neither a permanent nor comprehensive solution to the planet’s well-being. To eradicate the negative effect that humans have on the environment, the solution must be derived from the problem’s underlying cause: population growth.

As one would intuit, the world population has grown rapidly in the past 100 years. As more countries industrialize, the technology and practices that increase life expectancy and decrease the child mortality rate become widely available. According to the estimation that Colin McEvedy and Richard Jones provided in 1978, the world population increased by roughly 1.5 billion people between 1 A.D. and 1900 but it increased by 4.7 billion from 1960 to 2020. This may be a form of positive progress, but this statistic is alarming with regards to resources. Just as populations of organisms have carrying capacities in their ecosystem, there is a limit to the number of humans that can live on Earth.

Our planet has a finite number of natural resources that will have to provide for an increasingly large number of people. As our population grows, we will find that the scarcity of our natural resources will follow the same trend. The agricultural industry is one example of how overpopulation depletes resources. To feed more people, the agriculture must have more farmland, or be more efficient with the land that they already have. Unfortunately, the industry’s solution to the former is deforestation. Approximately 80% of all deforestation can be linked to the agriculture industry. Not only does this destroy the habitats of countless organisms, but this negates the plans that you have made to eliminate carbon emissions. The photosynthetic plants that are being destroyed for the land they dwell on release the carbon dioxide that they have consumed. This accounts for about 12% of all greenhouse gas emissions. The second solution to the agricultural problem is to be more efficient with the existing farmland. The industry has developed ways to do this such as chemical fertilizers and pesticides, but unfortunately these have a negative effect on the environment, just as deforestation. Fertilizer runoff – along with clothing production and sewage disposal (more industries affected by overpopulation) – is one of the main causes of eutrophication. Eutrophication creates dense growths of oxygen consuming aquatic plants, effectively killing the animals that live there. As you can see, the agriculture industry has numerous effects on the environment, both direct and indirect. If overpopulation were not an issue, then the agricultural practices that destroy the planet would not be necessary.

Fresh water is another natural resource that humans are extremely reliant on. Roughly 2.5% of our water resources are fresh water, and only a small portion of that is drinkable. Due to overpopulation, one commentator projects that most of the world population will be living with water shortages by 2025. 2025 is four years from now.

Reducing carbon emissions as a country will play a role in the conservation of our environment, but we must find a solution to overpopulation if we are to truly eliminate the negative effects that humans have on our planet.

Sincerely,

Connor Stutz

NPG IS PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THE WINNERS OF OUR 2021 ESSAY SCHOLARSHIP CONTEST

$5,000 - The Donald W. Mann Memorial Scholarship for Population Studies

Matthew Joseph Doty

University of Notre Dame

$2,500 - The Marjorie Koldinger NPG Memorial Scholarship

Harrison Hall

Liberty University