AN OPTIMUM-POPULATION FOR NORTH AND LATIN-AMERICA

The population of North America, which now stands at nearly 300 millio n people, is projected to double in about 60 years, while the populati on of nearly 500 million people in South America is projected to doubl e in less than 40 years. Both of these populations obtain more than 99 % of their food from the land, and this percentage will increase as th ese populations grow. Maintaining fertile and ample land is critical i f these large populations are to be fed. Soil degradation by soil eros ion is a serious problem on both continents. In addition, agricultural land is being lost to urbanization and highways because of rapid popu lation growth. Nearly a half hectare of land is needed for urbanizatio n for each person added to the North American population; this is alre ady causing serious problems with agriculture in some states in the Un ited States. The land resources that are critical for food production will be especially so if the populations of both continents double to nearly 2 billion. Land resources will also be critical when both conti nents deplete their fossil fuels in less than 100 years and have to tu rn to renewable energy sources. With about 2 billion people, there wil l be serious shortages of food, water, and energy resources and the st andard of living will significantly decline. Our assessment suggests t hat for a relatively high standard of living in North and South Americ a each continent should have no more than about 200 million people, or a total of 400 million.