october 2006,the us population reached 300 million...PLEASE ANSWER really appericate it?

Question

In october 2006,the us population reached 300 million Is a population of this size sustainable in the long term? if not what population size would be sustainable and why?

Answer 1

the USA is not the only country in the world although many people here in Answers seem to think so
the main problems are in the 3rd world countries

And to calculate land size against population does not make sense
because the greater part is un inhabitable
To calculate correctly put habitable land against population
people do not live in deserts ,semi deserts ,on top of mountains on the banks of rivers with unstable levels or in the wilderness

If the sea levels rise this will change drastically for the worst ,because the greater part of humanity is on the worlds coasts.

try to calculate POTABLE WATER against world consumption (including irrigation which is the greater part)and overall food production and arable lands to grow it
and you will result in a different view.

As it is the world faces a global potable water shortage ,and with diminishing arable lands (because of wide spread desertification)and less farmers (many farmers sons head for the cities)

The farmers that are left have to feed some 70 million more people than the year before but with less topsoil.

Over the last half century,
Population growth & rising incomes have tripled world grain demand from 640 million tons to 1,855 million

In the near future the global farming community will not be able to feed every body ,food prices will continue to rise. .

Answer 2

300 million does sound like a huge number doesn't it?? But look at it like this:

300,000,000 people in the US
3,718,695 sq mi of land in the US

80 people per square mile in the US

We have 6,901 people per square mile in Seattle, yet we still have room for huge parks and open space, public garden and even city farm land.

Using the Seattle model the United States could support about 750 times more people than it currently does. In fact the United States could sustain every person on the planet and still have room for more.

99% of the US is under utilized and with planning and care we can sustain much more than we currently do.

Waste and transportation issues are the problems that we need to fix. Once we find out how to do that then population levels will not be a real concern for many years.

Answer 3

In the US, yes. But, of more concern is the world's population (almost 7 billion). The earth's population doubles about every 35 years. In about 15 years, we'll be at 10 billion.

We're already pumping more CO2 into the atmosphere that can be used the all the plants on earth. Just imagine what this will look like with 3 billion more people!

In other words, the earth can't sustain 7 billion. I think, with today's technology, the earth can sustain about about half what it is today ... 3.5 billion.

Answer 4

The sustainability of the human population is more of a ratios question. The earth can only sustain so much biota (living stuff), and its basically up to use to figure out what we want to give priority. Do we want more humans? If so, another species will have to suffer. Do we want fewer humans? Then we might have a chance at sustaining our ecological diversity.

This is a really tough question, and even the experts are still trying to figure out the answers....

Answer 5

It's sustainable. I'm retired and have had a chance to get to see the size of this country. I went to Montana, Wyoming, the Dakatos, get off the highway and go visit the small towns. The country is definately large enough with plenty of land left over to raise the crops for food.

Answer 6

I once heard that everyone in the United States could live in the state of Texas with a front & back porch on thier house there wouldn't be any grass just houses. But if the whole country can live in one state we should be ok for a while. My brother went hunting out in Wyoming here a few years ago & the average farm was 100,000 acres, the owners were laughing at a farmer down the road who only owned 10,000 acres, they said he wasn't really farming.

Answer 7

My dad has a theory that when the World gets over populated something happens to reduce its numbers - earthquake, tsunami, famine, drought....war. It makes you think but then it begs the question that these things seem to happen in underpopulated areas? So is there any truth in it?