We now must address two questions:

　　Firstly，where on Earth is the population problem the worst?

　　It is my opinion that the world's worst population problem is right here in the United States. This is because of our high per capita resource consumption. It has been estimated that a person added to the population of the United States will have 30 or more times the impact on world resources as will a person added to the population of an underdeveloped nation. Indeed, resource consumption in North America is roughly the same as resource consumption in the entire rest of the world.

　　Secondly，where should we apply our efforts to have the most beneficial effect in helping to solve the population problem?

　　The answer is, right here in the U.S..

　　For many people, the population problem is a problem of "those people" in distant undeveloped countries. In early 1997, many people successfully lobbied Congress to restore family planning assistance in the U.S. foreign aid programs. This was a great victory, but it treats "those people" as though they were the big problem.

　　Unchecked population growth in the Third World means depletion of water resources. It means famine. It means suffering. It pushes populations to clear rainforests. It pushes populations to go out and graze on land that cannot sustain cattle, and that leads to expansion of deserts worldwide. We all have a stake in the global environment.

　　It is so easy to blame the problem on others and to identify what other people should do to solve the problem, while we ignore our own responsibilities and avoid doing anything to reduce the population problem in the U.S.. We need to work to stop population growth in the U.S..

　　There are two sources that contribute approximately equally to population growth in the U.S.: the excess of births over deaths, and immigration. Both of these must be addressed.

　　Let's compare three aspects of efforts to stop population growth in other countries with efforts to stop population growth in the United States.

　　1) When we give family planning assistance to other countries, we are dealing with countries over which we have no legal jurisdiction and where we have little or no immediate political responsibility.

　　When we confront population growth in the United States, we are dealing with a country where we as citizens have full and complete jurisdiction, and where we have political and family responsibilities. It should be much easier to solve our problem than it is to solve other peoples' problems.

　　2) The negative effects of runaway population growth in an underdeveloped country are generally felt only in that country and in its immediate neighbors.

　　The negative effects of population growth in the U.S. are felt throughout the entire world, because of our enormous per capita consumption of resources. Indeed, one of the aims of the many free-trade agreements about which we currently hear so much, is to open up the world's resources for consumption by consumers in the U.S..

　　3) In countries receiving family planning assistance from the U.S. there will always be individuals who will claim that this assistance is a form of "genocide." They will be strengthened in this belief if we in the U.S. fail to take steps to halt our own population growth. As Tim Wirth of the U.S. Department of State has said, the best thing that we in the U.S. can do to help other countries stop their population growth, is to set an example and stop our own population growth.

　　As you think about addressing the problem of population growth in the U.S., please ponder this challenge:

　　Can you think of any problem, on any scale, from microscopic to global, whose long-term solution is in any demonstrable way, aided, assisted, or advanced, by having continued population growth at the local level, the state level, the national level, or globally?

　　So we can see that Pogo was right:

　　"We've met the enemy, and they're us!"

　　1.What did the author mainly talk about?

　　[A] The population problem in the world.

　　[B] The population condition in the western world.

　　[C] The population problem in Europe.

　　[D] The population problem in the U.S.

　　2. According to the author， which place should solve the population proplem?

　　[A] The US

　　[B] Europe

　　[C] Underdeveloped countries

　　[D] The Third World

　　3. What did the Congressman think about the population problem?

　　[A] He thought that the problem was worst in America.

　　[B] He thought that the problem caused many other problems in the world.

　　[C] He thought that the problem cannot be solved easily.

　　[D] He thought that the problem in the Third World was to be blamed.

　　4. Why are the negative effects of population growth in the U.S. felt throughout the entire world?

　　[A] Because people around the world are all concerned about it.

　　[B] Because per capita consumption of resources in America is enormous.

　　[C] Because the U.S. is the most powerful country in the world.

　　[D] Because the U.S .has great influence on other countries.

　　5. Which is one of the reasons for the Americans to pay attention to their population problem?

　　[A] Because some people always claim that the American assistance for family planning in other countries is a form of "genocide".

　　[B] Because there are too many migrants nowadays.

　　[C] Because once the population is too large, the American government will adopt unfavorable policies to limit migrants' coming to it.

　　[D] Because America is now facing a lot of problems.