America the Beautiful (Serenity is Hard to Find)

By Jeremy Beck

How far do you have to go to find peace and tranquility, away from the sounds of traffic or construction? One in twenty heart attacks in cities have been linked to noise pollution. But by some estimates, there are only roughly one dozen places in the entire United States where one can listen for 15 … Continued

VP Harris’ Missed Opportunity

By Jeremy Beck

When Rob Harding attended the United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP15) this winter, participating governments had already failed to meet the targets they had set over the previous two decades (ICYMI, North American birds have declined by a third since the first Earth Day, a loss of over one billion birds). After experiencing COP15, Rob expects … Continued

Personal Freedom, Polling…and Pollinators!

By Jeremy Beck

Basic Freedoms Four out of five Americans say the area where they live either has enough people living there, or is already too crowded. In a recent CBS News poll (May 2023), Americans were asked about population density where they live, and whether or not their areas needed more people. Almost a third of Americans … Continued

By the Numbers: Record Visa Overstays in 2022

By Jeremy Beck

The rate of visitors to the United States overstaying their visas doubled in 2022, according to newly-released government data. We’ve updated our graphic. By the Numbers Breakdown: 2.1 million migrants have been released (Jan. 2021-March 2023) after crossing the border illegally. Total releases are almost certainly higher, but until the government releases the full data, … Continued

Congress is the wellspring of unsustainable demand

By Jeremy Beck

Population growth has its downsides… …at least in Idaho, where The New York Times reports “the population and living costs have surged in recent years.” The surge of people moving in from California and elsewhere has “put new demands on health care, education, and transportation.” NumbersUSA is currently working on a study of urban sprawl … Continued

Water low; immigration high. Got a techno-fix?

By Jeremy Beck

Proposals to accommodate the worst border crisis America has ever witnessed belong in the realm of science fiction, in a world where limits don’t exist. In reality, the lesson of limits is all around us. Groundwater can take thousands of years to replenish, and Arizona is running out of it. The New York Times reports … Continued

Immigration policy is habitat policy

By Jeremy Beck

If America has a responsibility for preserving habitat and biodiversity within our borders, policymakers should look at our latest study, Population Growth and Sprawl in Texas to see how even a state as big as Texas is losing critical habitat. Since population growth drives habitat loss, and immigration policy drives population growth, immigration policy is … Continued

Illegal Immigration Adds a Los Angeles Every Two Years

By Jeremy Beck

Over two million people, for each of the last two years, have either been released into the U.S., avoided detection, or overstayed a visa. Most are economic migrants who plan to stay for a while. That doesn’t count the more than one million who receive green cards every year. Four million people reside in the … Continued

We know what it means to add 82 million people. Do we want to do it again?

By Jeremy Beck

The United States grew by 82 million people from 1990 to today, and could grow by another 50-120 million by 2060, depending immigration scenarios. Since 1990, legal immigration has averaged more than 1 million per year; the largest wave of immigration in world history. Illegal immigration has fluctuated but is now running at historic levels. … Continued