[driftdiver]

“Behind China and India, the U.S. is the third most populous nation in the world and we’re fast catching up. As population grows so does the amount of energy we need. Just as two people require more water than one person so it is with energy in a modern society.”

Fast catching up? We’re not even close and the only reason we may be coming closer is their death rates are higher.

[Slapshot68]

“Fast catching up? We’re not even close and the only reason we may be coming closer is their death rates are higher.”

Not to mention that the EU’s population is nearly 1/2 a billion.

[Parley Baer]

Right. And the big increase in our population is from illegal immigration.

[Larry Lucido]

Sounds like a job for Captain Hyperbole!

[kabar]

Fast catching up? We’re not even close and the only reason we may be coming closer is their death rates are higher.

We are catching up to China, but not India, but it will take at least another century. China has a population of 1.3 billion with an annual population growth rate of .606% and a total fertility rate of 1.75 children born/woman. The US has a population of 303 hundred million, annual growth rate .894%, and a total fertility rate of 2.09 children born/woman. India has a population of 1.1 billion, annual growth rate 1.606%, and a total fertility rate of 2.81 children born/woman.

Currently, 1.6 million legal and illegal immigrants settle in the country each year; 350,000 immigrants leave each year, resulting in net immigration of 1.25 million. If immigration continues at current levels, the nation’s population will increase from 301 million today to 468 million in 2060 — a 167 million (56 percent) increase. Immigrants plus their descendents will account for 105 million (63 percent) of the increase. The total projected growth of 167 million is equal to the combined populations of Great Britain, France, and Spain. The 105 million from immigration by itself is equal to 13 additional New York Cities.

The author's point, and I agree with it, is that our population growth, the highest in the developed world, will have a major impact on global energy consumption because we use more per capita than anyone else. We are going to have to run just to stand still in terms of our energy needs.