U.S. Population Hits 300 Million
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
NEW YORK — America welcomed its 300-millionth inhabitant yesterday amid concern that the country’s burgeoning population and unchecked consumption could place impossible demands on natural resources over the next few decades.
The population milestone was reached at 7:46 a.m., according to the U.S. Census Bureau estimates, just 39 years after the country hit the 200 million mark.
But debate about immigration and the environmental impact of such growth resulted in a far more muted reception than the pomp and celebration that greeted the 1967 landmark.
Environmentalists and land use experts warned that unless radical changes were made to the American lifestyle, the nation’s population growth could jeopardize supplies of resources such as water and fuel.
The population of America has surged over the past decade and is now the world’s third largest after China and India. The Census Bureau estimates that an American is born every seven seconds, one dies every 13 seconds, and a migrant crosses into the country every 31 seconds.
The result is an increase of one person every 11 seconds.
By 2050, the population is projected to reach 400 million and 600 million by the end of the 21st century, spelling potential disaster if Americans’ rampant consumerism and desire for larger cars and homes goes unchallenged.
