300 Million People And Counting

The U.S. Population Is Growing Faster Than Any Other Country

(CBS) 
In other years the country reached population milestones, like in 1967 when the population hit 200 million, much fanfare surrounded the achievement. That year, a census clock kept track of the increase and President Lyndon Johnson visited the census bureau to commemorate the occasion.

Life magazine documented the birth of the 200 million America. Robert Ken Woo Jr. was born Nov. 20th 11:03 a.m. in Atlanta, Ga.

"I've always considered it an honor and something that I've been proud of, at the same time recognizing that I had absolutely nothing to do with receiving it," Woo, a lawyer in Atlanta and father of three, said. "And it was just a completely random, random happening."

Woo's birth prompted then Sunday Morning anchor Charles Kuralt to look back at how fast America had grown. He went to one of the earliest colonial towns, Plymouth, where the pilgrims arrive on the Mayflower in 1620.

"When the embattled farmers stood here, by the old north bridge in concord, and fired the shot heard round the world, there were 3 million of us, mostly farmers," Kuralt said then. "Think of it: 3 million people; one for every square mile of what was to become, in the course of human events, a nation."

It took until 1915 to reach 100 million. The streets were still filled with horse and buggies and Ellis Island was filled with immigrants. In 1967, the U.S. was growing up from the inside and only six percent of Americans were foreigners. Alarm bells were sounding over the population boom.

The 1960s-era T.V. series "Lost in Space" tasked the Robinson family with finding a new planet for humans because of overcrowding on earth. In 1972 a population commission chaired by John D. Rockefeller III expressed great concern.

"The population growth of the current magnitude has aggravated many of the nation's problems and made their solution more difficult," he said then.

Cautionary tones persist today. Vicki Markham of the Center for Environment and Population says a new scientific study shows that Americans are making a deep, damaging, ecological imprint on the environment.

"We have never had an America where we had so many people consuming so many natural resources, with so much environmental impact," she said. "When you take all the Americans, our everyday actions do cause there to be an imprint, just like when you have an imprint of your foot on the beach. It is not without effect."

Densely populated coastal regions, urban sprawl and more cars cause climate changes and place increased demands on resources like energy and water. Markham said there is already evidence that the country is reaching it's "ecological limits to some degree."

Frey, the demographer says that population growth is not necessarily the cause of environmental degradation. He said Americans simply consume too much. He says 400 million people — which he predicts will be reached in 2043 — is manageable.

"I think we're much better equipped in this country because of our wealth, because of our scientific prowess and just because of the land and resources we have here to enable that kind of growth," he said. "I don't think it's doom and gloom"

Maricopa mayor Kelly is banking on Frey's prediction of sustainable growth.

"You plant a seed, whether it's a cotton seed or flower seed, you plant a seed of economic growth or prosperity, and it's another way to look at it, another way to look at farming," he said.