In 1972, the U.S. total fertility rate dropped below 2.1 children per woman, the level at which a population holds steady through births and deaths alone. It has stayed below that mark every year since. Colcom Foundation treats that milestone as a turning point in its understanding of American population trends.

Voluntary Choices, Lasting Results

The Pittsburgh-based foundation sees the 1972 shift as evidence that population stabilization is achievable through voluntary means, such as expanded reproductive choice and women’s empowerment, rather than through coercive policy.

Population growth did not stop, however. Between 1970 and 1990, the U.S. population still grew by 45 million people. According to the Foundation, immigration became the primary demographic driver during that period, a change it calls the central unresolved tension in U.S. environmental sustainability.

Projections Through Midcentury

Colcom Foundation cites Pew Research Center projections indicating that immigration and the U.S.-born children of immigrants will account for 82 percent of U.S. population growth from 2005 to 2050. Pew also projects that immigration will account for 103 million additional people by 2065.

The Foundation examines these figures through an environmental lens. It links overall population growth to biocapacity consumption, the conversion of natural habitat, and national carbon emissions. Its reasoning rests on the I = P x A x T equation, which holds that environmental impact reflects population size alongside consumption and technology. U.S. population rose 62 percent between 1970 and 2021, and the Foundation notes that total emissions increased 15 percent during that time even as per capita emissions fell.

Colcom Foundation funds public education on the environmental consequences of these demographic trends. It states that it does not fund direct political lobbying or partisan advocacy. Founded in 1996 by the late Cordelia S. May, the organization also supports conservation, environmental projects, and cultural assets in southwestern Pennsylvania.

For readers following population debates, the Foundation’s perspective centers on the link between total population size and demand on land, water, and wildlife habitat. Its materials draw on demographic history, independent projections, and peer-reviewed conservation research to make that connection. Refer to this article to learn more.

 

Find more information about Colcom Foundation on https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/311479839