Stabilization, C. for P. (2019, December 26). Good News: California’s population growth has slowed. Bad News: Overpopulation and its effects force people to flee. Retrieved from https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/good-news-californias-population-growth-has-slowed-bad-news-overpopulation-and-its-effects-force-people-to-flee-300979473.html

 

According to California’s department of finance, the state grew by “only” 141,300 people last year which is a growth rate of .35 percent. Which was the lowest growth since 1900, however; it was attributed to the exodus of 200,000 inhabitants. California’s Population Stabilization Executive Director Ric Oberlink responded, “It’s good news that California’s growth rate is slowing…California is already overpopulated; it is why we’re seeing Californians leave the state in record numbers.”, he went on to say that overpopulation leads to a lower quality of life. For a state that prides itself on a high quality of life is lowering the bar due to increasing populations, but this slow growth might offset that.

If these statistics are actually accurate, I think this is a good trend because California is becoming too crowded which has both economic and environmental drawbacks. There were several quotes from the population stabilization director of California, in which he spoke on how overpopulation drove up housing prices and reduced quality of life, but he never spoke on how overpopulation destroys native wildlife and ecosystems. I think we, as a society, focus on the human impact more than the natural impact, when in reality the natural balance has a monumental impact on how we live. Even if population growth is slowing, the population is still too large; so we must figure out ways to lead a more sustainable lifestyle for the near future.