Why Add More Who Return Less? Finite Resources Our Land, Water, And Such Can Support Only So Many People.

We all know Grandma’s story - how she and Uncle John, then a boy, sailed for the New World, frightened, saddened by the thought of leaving loved ones behind, yet optimistic about the new life ahead.

Where would our families be today without these brave souls? Where would our forebears have been without America’s benign immigration policies of the past?

Unfortunately, this nation of immigrants no longer has the limitless frontier that greeted our ancestors. With a population of 267 million, the United States now is consuming water, fuel, wetlands, farm land and landfill space at alarming rates. We don’t have an endless supply of anything - other than immigrants.

If maintained, the current level of legal immigration, about 900,000 people annually, will produce dire consequences - economically, socially and environmentally. The Sierra Club should recognize the threat overpopulation poses and vote to join grassroots activists in lobbying for an immigration limit of 200,000.

“The underlying cause of our environmental problems is too many people, and everybody knows that,” said Sierra Club member Alan Kuper. “But it is so difficult to talk about.”

Immigrants and their descendants now make up 55 percent of our annual growth. At that rate, experts predict, our population will double in 70 years. Imagine what it’ll be like then for our grandchildren to wait in line for a chairlift. Or to visit Glacier National Park. Or to drive through Seattle during rush hour. Already, masses yearning to be free of gridlock, smog and crime are huddled in metropolitan areas, dreaming of new places like Colorado and the Inland Northwest to overpopulate .

Today’s immigrants not only are numerous, they’re different. Their predecessors distinguished themselves and moved up the economic ladder quickly. Now, research by economist George Borjas shows that immigrants are less educated, less skilled - and less likely to get to the point where they’re earning more than they receive in public subsidies and benefits.

Our country has thrived since its beginning as the world’s melting pot. But we’re being overwhelmed by numbers now. We continue our laissez faire approach to immigration at our own peril. , DataTimes MEMO: For opposing view, see headline: Only real shortage is one of good grace

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