
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, May 6, 1994                   TAG: 9405110064
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-14 EDITORIAL   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

BABIES

ROANOKE'S struggle to understand and deal with the issues associated with teen pregnancy has not arisen in a vacuum. One related particle of fact: Among the 25 large countries that contribute more than 80 percent of the world's population growth, only the United States has no population policy. It does, however, give more money than anyone else to international family-planning programs: $325 million in the 1992 fiscal year, or a third of the global budget.

As a nation, then, the United States is aware of the need to bring population growth in line with world resources. It just sees no problem at home.

Why should it? This is, after all, a rich nation, with abundant resources to feed its people, if it so chooses.

But broader issues are involved, having to do with an increasing population that the world is hard-pressed to support.

According to statistics gathered by the Pew Global Stewardship Initiative, the annual U.S. rate of natural population growth - that is, not counting population increases from immigration - is 0.8 percent. Though the third highest among industrialized nations, that rate is hardly a stunner; the big growth rates are in poorer countries.

But the impact on world resources of population growth in the United States is out of all proportion to the raw numbers. Per capita, Americans consume more of just about every resource than the world average: six times the world average in energy supplies, for example.

Granted, America is also incredibly productive. Each U.S. citizen, the Pew figures indicate, consumes an average of 1,565 gallons of water a day - but 80 percent of it goes into an agricultural sector that feeds America and helps relieve world hunger.

America is generous with its bounty - and well it should be. It also is taking much more from the Earth. A child born in this country, Vice President Al Gore has estimated, will have 30 times more impact on the environment than a child born in India.

The community strain caused by youngsters having babies they are ill-equipped to support is one good reason to support family-planning efforts. Another is to ensure that consuming Americans are also productive Americans; children having children isn't the way to do it.

by CNB