The Department of the Interior has declared a water shortage on the Colorado River for the first time. Currently, there are 40 million people depending on it for water. Farmers and ranchers also rely on the Colorado river to produce their crops. If immigration-driven population growth, driven by federal government policies, continues at its current pace, water resources will be put under even more stress.
When Covid-19 hit New Zealand, that country's government took decisive action to seal its borders. The New Zealand government is now taking a course to ensure that its immigration policy operates for the benefit of its citizens.
When Australia closed its borders in response to the coronavirus, many politicians and members of the media were predicting doom and gloom for the economy. And then a not-so-remarkable thing happened. Without an economy artificially juiced on immigration, Australians began to see gains for themselves as per capita GDP began to rise and unemployed workers began to rejoin the workforce. This is a story that deserves a lot more attention.
A recent study shows that scientists have underestimated the amount of land and water needed for agriculture, which is further complicated as the United States loses three acres of land every minute to development and has areas such as the West and Southwest facing increasing droughts and declining Colorado River water reserves.
Advances in agriculture make it possible to yield higher amounts of food, but the best and most fertile land is being lost to development in both rural and urban areas. As a result, the ability to grow the best crops in a sustainable manner with the least amount of water becomes more challenging. Technological advances will offer temporary solutions, but the issue will only be exacerbated as our population grows to over 400 million by 2060. Our population growth is driven by immigration policies set by Congress that must be reduced in order to alleviate pressures on our land and water supplies.