The environmental and social impact of population growth know no national boundaries and affect us all. Population growth anywhere in the world ultimately has an impact on the entire planet's environment. Many environmental problems, such as air and water pollution and global climate change, are borderless. As our population grows, demands for resources increase, adding to pollution and waste. More energy is used, escalating the problems of global warming, acid rain, oil spills and nuclear waste.
More land is required for agriculture, leading to deforestation and soil erosion.
More homes, factories, and roads must be built, reducing agricultural land still further as well as habitat for other species, leading increasingly to their extinction. One example of the interconnectedness of our planet's environment is the depletion of tropical rainforests. Rainforest destruction is not only causing a grave loss of biodiversity, it is also upsetting the atmosphere's climate control capabilities. Americans can also be affected by political conflicts that arise from environmental refugees fleeing overpopulated and environmentally degraded areas in search of more benign conditions, or from concerns over the rights to finite natural resources like oil fields, water resources, or land. Small percentages of very large numbers add up quickly.