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CENSUS 2010: De-bunking the Headlines

By Kathleene Parker

The United States recently updated its census. But—considering corporate media's and the government's seemingly deliberate efforts to distort the results, and considering that our booming population continues as the unacknowledged elephant in the room—I wonder why we even bothered.

When the first census was done in 1790, our population was roughly 4 million. But when the outcome of the 2010 census was announced, the astounding new population total was barely mentioned or, when it was, its context was ignored, so that no one understood the significance of the 307 million Americans, likely more, we have become. (Some estimate the number at closer to 320 million.)

Nor were we helped to understand one of the best-kept secrets of our time: That only three nations—China, India and the United States, in that order—have populations over 300 million. (Indonesia at 230 million is a distant fourth.)

Meanwhile, the United States is the world's fourth fastest growing nation! In other words, we're not only a high-carbon, high-impact economy, we're a global population super-giant. And, the drought-plagued American Southwest is the fastest growing region of this, the world's fourth fastest growing nation!

with populations over one billion—also becoming big-time consumers and highly industrialized that dubious distinction falters, but we're still a major global population player. We—and the world—deserve for us to have a candid national discussion of "where we are growing" and whether that is what we Americans want for our children's futures.

(Some scientific estimates indicate that one American has the environmental impact of 10 to 30 citizens from a developing nation, depending upon what developing nation and the specific American lifestyle—say a trophy house versus a humble suburban cottage. Sadly, in the United States, even those with a "green" lifestyle have a huge carbon and general environmental footprint compared with that in many non-industrial cultures.)

United States growth is linked to both immigration at the highest rate, by large margins, in our history and, despite media depictions to the contrary, a rising birthrate. (In contrast, most other developed nations have below-replacement-level birth rates.)

After the census, there were the much-ballyhooed and correct—but appallingly misleading—headlines that 2000 to 2010 brought "some of the slowest growth in decades." In fact, recent growth slowed only slightly while we continue a decades-long population explosion.

Our numbers explode to the extent that we could easily be a China-like one billion Americans this century, a fact it seems, studiously ignored—even deliberately hidden—by Big Media. Of note, since 1950 our growth rate has exactly matched India's a century earlier, a pattern that shows every indication of continuing—with an almost identical demographic outcome!

But since media reports imply the opposite, we are, in the word of Colorado population activist Dr. Al Bartlett, "innumerate"—which is to numbers what "illiterate" is to words. It seems that even the truth—and perhaps the planet—are to be sacrificed in the name of continuing our population growth! (More on those economic forces in a future column.)

The media are fond of saying, "We are a nation of immigrants." True, but we are also a nation that—with two exceptions—tightly controlled immigration. (Founders Jefferson, Franklin and Washington opposed immigration or raised deep concerns, for reasons apropos to their times, and forged policies of tight immigration.)

The previous immigration highs were "the Great Wave" between 1880 and 1920. Today there is what I call "the Great Tsunami of Immigration," beginning about 1990 and continuing.

For perspective, in the 60 years between i860 and 1920 only 25 million immigrants were admitted. In contrast, in just six years between 2000 and 2006, over 20 million arrived! During the frontier-era Great Wave—when urban sprawl, water shortages, crumbling infrastructure, a gripping recession with high unemployment or global environmental degradation were not problems—on average about 600,000 legal immigrants a year were admitted.

But even that was not without controversy, partly because powerful economic forces (the "robber barons") wanted a flooded labor market to keep labor helpless against exploitation. Lost on many today is that the current immigration debate has happened before in our history. Just a century ago, we were having a heated discussion similar to our current one. (I say "similar" because, unlike today, liberals, civil-rights advocates and labor advocates then stood mostly on the side of restricting immigration and the discussion aligned along a labor-ver-sus-business demarcation. More on that in a future column.)

But Congress eventually had no choice but to halt the Great Wave. Immigra-

When will the American people be allowed full disclosure about our exploding population or the implications to the planet? After all, Bangladesh's overpopulation is a huge problem for Bangladesh, but—except for it being a breeding ground for terrorist extremism—it is of little consequence to the world. But U.S. overpopulation, with its huge and growing carbon and environmental footprint, is a global problem!

Sierra Club director Carl Pope—back when the Sierra Club still considered population a component of carrying capacity—in the early 1990s called the United States "the world's most overpopulated nation." With China and India—each

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	CENSUS 2010: De-bunking the Headlines By Kathleene Parker The United States recently updated its census. But—considering corporate media's and the government's seemingly deliberate efforts to distort the results, and considering that our booming population continues as the unacknowledged elephant in the room—I wonder why we even bothered. When the first census was done in 1790, our population was roughly 4 million. But when the outcome of the 2010 census was announced, the astounding new population total was barely mentioned or, when it was, its context was ignored, so that no one understood the significance of the 307 million Americans, likely more, we have become. (Some estimate the number at closer to 320 million.) Nor were we helped to understand one of the best-kept secrets of our time: That only three nations—China, India and the United States, in that order—have populations over 300 million. (Indonesia at 230 million is a distant fourth.) Meanwhile, the United States is the world's fourth fastest growing nation! In other words, we're not only a high-carbon, high-impact economy, we're a global population super-giant. And, the drought-plagued American Southwest is the fastest growing region of this, the world's fourth fastest growing nation! with populations over one billion—also becoming big-time consumers and highly industrialized that dubious distinction falters, but we're still a major global population player. We—and the world—deserve for us to have a candid national discussion of "where we are growing" and whether that is what we Americans want for our children's futures. (Some scientific estimates indicate that one American has the environmental impact of 10 to 30 citizens from a developing nation, depending upon what developing nation and the specific American lifestyle—say a trophy house versus a humble suburban cottage. Sadly, in the United States, even those with a "green" lifestyle have a huge carbon and general environmental footprint compared with that in many non-industrial cultures.) United States growth is linked to both immigration at the highest rate, by large margins, in our history and, despite media depictions to the contrary, a rising birthrate. (In contrast, most other developed nations have below-replacement-level birth rates.) After the census, there were the much-ballyhooed and correct—but appallingly misleading—headlines that 2000 to 2010 brought "some of the slowest growth in decades." In fact, recent growth slowed only slightly while we continue a decades-long population explosion. Our numbers explode to the extent that we could easily be a China-like one billion Americans this century, a fact it seems, studiously ignored—even deliberately hidden—by Big Media. Of note, since 1950 our growth rate has exactly matched India's a century earlier, a pattern that shows every indication of continuing—with an almost identical demographic outcome! But since media reports imply the opposite, we are, in the word of Colorado population activist Dr. Al Bartlett, "innumerate"—which is to numbers what "illiterate" is to words. It seems that even the truth—and perhaps the planet—are to be sacrificed in the name of continuing our population growth! (More on those economic forces in a future column.) The media are fond of saying, "We are a nation of immigrants." True, but we are also a nation that—with two exceptions—tightly controlled immigration. (Founders Jefferson, Franklin and Washington opposed immigration or raised deep concerns, for reasons apropos to their times, and forged policies of tight immigration.) The previous immigration highs were "the Great Wave" between 1880 and 1920. Today there is what I call "the Great Tsunami of Immigration," beginning about 1990 and continuing. For perspective, in the 60 years between i860 and 1920 only 25 million immigrants were admitted. In contrast, in just six years between 2000 and 2006, over 20 million arrived! During the frontier-era Great Wave—when urban sprawl, water shortages, crumbling infrastructure, a gripping recession with high unemployment or global environmental degradation were not problems—on average about 600,000 legal immigrants a year were admitted. But even that was not without controversy, partly because powerful economic forces (the "robber barons") wanted a flooded labor market to keep labor helpless against exploitation. Lost on many today is that the current immigration debate has happened before in our history. Just a century ago, we were having a heated discussion similar to our current one. (I say "similar" because, unlike today, liberals, civil-rights advocates and labor advocates then stood mostly on the side of restricting immigration and the discussion aligned along a labor-ver-sus-business demarcation. More on that in a future column.) But Congress eventually had no choice but to halt the Great Wave. Immigra- When will the American people be allowed full disclosure about our exploding population or the implications to the planet? After all, Bangladesh's overpopulation is a huge problem for Bangladesh, but—except for it being a breeding ground for terrorist extremism—it is of little consequence to the world. But U.S. overpopulation, with its huge and growing carbon and environmental footprint, is a global problem! Sierra Club director Carl Pope—back when the Sierra Club still considered population a component of carrying capacity—in the early 1990s called the United States "the world's most overpopulated nation." With China and India—each www.eddiemcstiffs.com

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