Citizenship: 300,000,000 North-Americans, is that sustainable?

Today (or tomorrow), the population of the United States of America became 300 millions. Difficult to know if that was due to the birth of a baby born somewhere in the midwest or an immigrant who just arrived the country, crossing the border illegally. Pitty that it is not possible to know, wrote the New York Times : "That’s too bad, because whoever it is should get a bouquet and a thank-you card. It should be signed by President Bush on behalf of a grateful nation that is buzzing with a youthful energy for which the aging powers of Europe would gladly trade their pension obligations. If the newcomer is an immigrant, he or she should also get an apology from Mr. Bush for the scarcity of worker visas, and a promise to get right on that problem. " And continues: "The US may habe big problems, but also 300 million reasons for hope". Usually, latinos are the most feared, but they are among those who continue to bring vitality to the country. As the article continues "if you take the longer view of our nation, you will see that it has been fed and nourished by immigrants, and has an iron stomach for seemingly undigestible newcomers".

The US is perhaps the only country in the developed world where the economy is being bolstered by a population that is growing at a good rate. Yet the problem lies elsewhere. If the US population is only of 300 million people, representing less than 5% of the globe's population, they consume some 25% of the Worlds's resources and are the causers of a large part of pollution, waste, CO2 emissions, etc. And by 2050 it is expected that the US will consume around one third of the planet's resources. That is what is scary. And unfair. The Independent asks whether The US' path of growth is sustainable. And concludes that "Until the (american) government gets serious about forcing manufacturers to produce these (more environmentally friendly) things, the age of the more rational American consumer will remain a distant prospect."

That is why Al Gore is maybe preaching in the desert... so maybe we'll have to wait for the day when Manhattan will be flooded, for some reaction... maybe not such a distant prospect after all.