Editor:
Long time residents will no doubt recoil at the idea of 4,500 new units being built in ten story buildings in our small city, but this is a consequence of overpopulation. I’m certain there will be letters complaining about traffic, crime, and other aspects of crowding more people into our 8.4 square mile city, but the root causes need to be discussed. Many of our most intractable problems as a species come from growing our population beyond the carrying capacity of the natural systems we rely upon for clean air, water, and biodiversity. Having to cram ever more people into our city in tall buildings is our future because we have not been putting the brakes on population growth. We have to put them somewhere, and it’s either in tall buildings on small lots, or we sprawl into the countryside building single family homes while losing farmland and biodiversity.
Let’s please put the brakes on population growth and work on making this planet more habitable for all.
Paul Scott, Santa Monica