A stable population size is essential to prevent further deterioration of the very system that supports us - our environment and natural resource base. Regardless of how conservatively we use resources, the fundamental fact is that growing numbers of people unavoidably place increasing demands on our natural and social environment.

More people means more energy use, more traffic jams, more production of toxic wastes and increased tensions that result from living in crowded urban environments. However efficient we may be in the use of resources and however much we conserve in our attempt to preserve our environment, more people simply means more stress on the ecosystem.

Read BALANCE's latest information about Mass Immigration [more...]

• Nearly 700 species of plants and animals are endangered or threatened from destruction of habitat caused by population growth. About 9,000 species are at risk of extinction, and 500 species - that we know of - have already vanished forever.
• Every day we permanently remove 3.2 billion gallons more water from our aquifers than is replaced by natural processes. This is equivalent to half the water that flows through the mouth of the Mississippi River every day.
• U.S. consumption of energy grows every day, despite efforts to conserve. Ninety three percent of the United States’ increase in energy use since 1970 can be attributed to our population growth.
• To accommodate growth, we pave over an area equal to the state of Delaware every year.
• Only 5 - 10% of old growth forests in Oregon, Washington, and California remain - 90% of all U.S. old growth forests have been cut down to meet the demand for timber.

The high per capita consumption in the United States magnifies the environmental stress of population growth, yet curbing consumption by itself is a meaningless gesture if our population continues to skyrocket. We can become a model of population stabilization for others in the global community so that we can each work toward safeguarding our own natural resource base and thus safeguard the future of our planet.

ACT NOW: We must move quickly to maintain a replacement-level fertility rate of 2.1 or below and to achieve a traditional, replacement-level, all-inclusive immigration ceiling (200,000 per year), both of which are logically necessary if we are to stabilize our population.

Here is how you can help make a big difference:

1.) The ASAP! Coalition Action has links to a pair of resolutions for organizations and a pair for individuals. Each pair contains one resolution calling for an immigration moratorium (for legal immigration), and another to create a powerful incentive to reduce illegal immigration by stopping the job magnet.

2.) Push any local, regional, or state governing authority (county board of commissioners, city council, etc. ...) to approve the Immigration Moratorium Resolution for Organizations. Even though only the U.S. Congress has the legal authority to reduce immigration, having local authorities pass these resolutions is immensely important. Members of the U.S. Congress and the Bush-Cheney administration must listen hard to their constituents and local officials - thus, these resolutions can make a BIG difference. Once the Resolution is approved, make sure that the Resolution is sent to the officials listed at the bottom, send a copy to BALANCE, and we will gladly deliver it to your representative and share your progress with other activists.

3.) Push the same governing authority (county board of commissioners, city council, etc. ...) to approve the Illegal Immigration Resolution for Organizations, that would bar the counties, cities, etc. ... from doing business with companies that hire illegal immigrants. Once the Resolution is approved, make sure that the Resolution is sent to the officials listed at the bottom, send a copy to BALANCE, and we will gladly deliver it to your representative and share your progress with other activists.

4.) We also encourage you to get civic organizations (e.g., veterans' organizations, clubs, etc. ...) to endorse these Resolutions. Make as many copies of the Resolutions as you wish, and, as always, please call BALANCE with any questions you may have - we will help you any way we can!

5.) Sign your own copies of the Immigration Moratorium Resolution for Individuals and the Illegal Immigration Resolution for Individuals. Make as many copies of the Resolutions for individuals as you like, and when people have signed them, send copies to BALANCE, which will deliver them to your representatives.

As you know, Population-Environment Balance (BALANCE) uses many of its resources to prepare materials and functions that work toward an immigration moratorium and U.S. population stabilization.