1. Population and the Census American Civics 9

2. The American People Today Need to know how many people live here Census every 10 years Most recent census was in 2000

3. Census Data Determines: –Size of each state –How many people elected to Congress Tells us: –Children in each family –How many people have moved, and where –Rate of population growth

4. Population Growth 1790 Census: fewer than 4 million people 1890 Census: over 62 million people 1990 Census: 248.7 million people 2000 Census: 281.4 million people (13.2% increase!) Today’s population: over 302 million!

5. Population Growth Happens in 3 ways Natural increase: birth rate is higher than death rate –Birth rate is annual number of births per 1,000 people –Death rate is the annual number of deaths per 1,000 people Adding new territory (often after a war) Immigration –Since 1820, over 59 million immigrants worldwide have come here.

6. The United States Situation According to a study by David Pimentel: –The U.S. can sustain a population of only 200 million...That’s only if we reduce our energy consumption by 50%!

7. The United States Situation Growing by 3.2 million people per year –365 per hour –½ from new births –½ from immigration Each new American needs 1 acre of cities and highways – less land is available for growing food Next 80 years: U.S. population will double –Need twice as many schools, power plants, sewage treatment plants –Greater pollution –Social, political and environmental problems bigger and tougher to solve

8. The United States Situation Americans use 25X the resources of others –A family in a developing country would have to have 75 children to have the same environmental impact as an American family with 3 children! Traffic congestion is increasing faster than new highways can be built. Addition of 3.2 million Americans has a greater resource impact on the Earth than all of the people added last year in India and Africa combined.

9. United States 2000 Census U.S. Census Bureau Interactive Map

10. Minnesota’s Situation Minnesota is due to double in just 80 years! –Have to double homes, stores, schools, roads –Large amounts of world's richest farmland will be paved over to accommodate millions –More pressure on existing farmland (which is declining in fertility) to provide for more people –Pop. in rural areas is decreasing corporate farming operations attempt to squeeze more productivity out of smaller amount of farmland

11. Midwest Population at Night

12. World Population Growth