More immigrants mean more environmental degradation and lower quality of life.
Over-emphasizing the role of population growth in environmental problems ignores who has control of production and consumption decisions. Many of the causes of environmental decline in this country have nothing to do with population growth or individual consumer choices. The military, the nation's largest single polluter, and corporations produce much more toxic wastes than households. Corporate advertising drives overconsumption and creates demand for new products that are often more environmentally destructive than old products. Sprawling suburbs, planned and built by developers, gobble up prime agricultural land and wildlife habitat.