Time for getting out of the hustle and bustle. Time to move to where a more attractive lifestyle is possible. Now that many can work from home, moving to that special dream place is more possible than ever. Our cultural story is dominated by the meme of individual freedom. We operate under the notion that if one has the means to move, one has the right to do so. Not so fast. We need to measure our limits and set our boundaries, at the city, county and state levels as well as national levels. When too many people come to paradise it ceases being a paradise.
People migrate to other cities because they may have lower taxes, better access to open spaces and health care. They move to get closer to family and get away from the cold. People move to simplify their lifestyles or to move closer to amenities. Entire developments are built to attract retirees into warmer climates. Whatever the reason, the moment a particular area gets popular, the trouble begins.
The US has grown by over 138 million people since the first Earth Day tried to warn us about the dangers of overpopulation. But we are once again in D.O.C.-land. We have all heard of people who have O.C.D. well D.O.C., and I just made this up, stands for Delusional & Overpopulation-Clueless. We collectively refuse to acknowledge the dangers of increasing population numbers in a world where so much is sacrificed to growing numbers. Though many have tried to warn us that numbers matter, we keep allowing growth to come to beautiful areas. No matter the intent of the lifestyle migrant, the result when multiplied by thousands, is to rachet down the area’s quality of life. What was once quaint and pristine becomes strip mall after strip mall surrounded by mansion-peppered cul-de-sacs. Gas stations pop up, roads widen and roadkills increase. Demand for the conveniences push economic growth into the constant drone of construction, further destroying the peacefulness these lifestyle migrants seek.
The late professor of physics, Al Bartlett, sardonically once asked, "Can you think of any problem in any area of human endeavor on any scale, from microscopic to global, whose long-term solution is in any demonstrable way is aided, assisted, or advanced by further increases in population, locally, nationally, or globally?" The answer is an emphatic, “NO.”
The greater metro area of Phoenix certainly has not been helped by overpopulation. It is just one of many examples of unsustainable growth in the desert southwest. In 1950, Maricopa County, had fewer than 350,000 people. By 2016, this area which includes Phoenix, grew to a population of more than 4 million. Recently, in just 9 years, it has added over a half million more people. Sunny Arizona attracts many lifestyle migrants because of its dry climate, desert landscapes and many golf courses. But its main sources of water, the Colorado, Salt, and Verde rivers, have not been able to keep up with the demand even with the encouragement of drought tolerant landscaping and use of recycled water. Climate change is sure to bestow even more water scarcity upon millions.
The late Garret Hardin, professor emeritus of human ecology at the University of California at Santa Barbara spoke volumes when he pointed out, “When individuals, acting in their own self-interest, exploit a shared, finite resource, it will inevitably lead to the destruction or depletion of that resource, even though it's detrimental to everyone involved.”
What can be done? First there must be a collective cultural acceptance the negative impacts of overpopulation and the overshoot it causes. Once we accept that there are both ecological and societal limits to growth, laws can follow. We must limit these freedoms of movement based on sustainability. If water is already limited, limiting growth is imperative. Limiting growth is lifesaving. Limiting growth in an already overpopulated country is a matter of survival. Limiting migration both between states and between countries is all about being able to support people’s needs with ever-decreasing resources in the long term.
Sustainability platforms must rule the day. Sustainability laws must be set up to preserve remaining resources. These laws are sensible because survival is sensible. Welcoming more people to resource stressed states it ludicrous. It may meet the requirements of some notions of political correctness, but it never leads to cleaner air, adequate water supplies or preventing more of the feathered and furred to land up on the endangered species list.
Hanging out a ‘No Vacancy” sign at a motel when rooms are full maybe disappointing to someone who needs a room, but the hotel has a right to operate within its capacity. The US has not only a right but a need to set population limits and so does each city and county. It is not malicious. It is just reality when there is no more room at the inn.