300 Million and Counting

Maybe that wild and crazy guy, Mel Gibson, is on to something with his new production Apocalyptica. The plot deals with the demise of a meso-American civilization due to religious mythology, overpopulation and ecological collapse. Many scholars agree that these conditions probably lead to the end of the Mayan civilization. By the time of the Conquistadors, the classic Mayan cities were crumbling ghost towns.
Now, we find that a new American is added to our population every 11 seconds. Today we have reached 300 million. That's a fifty percent increase from 200 million in 1967. But there is still plenty of open space in America. There is about 84 square miles per person compared to Europe's 300 and Japan's 900. What is alarming from a sustainable viewpoint is that the amount of consumption is going up--fast. Since 1967 car mileage has tripled, the number of vehicles doubled and households have fewer people inside. Its not the heat its the humidity, Virginia.