And it looks like the 300,000,000 “citizen” will likely be an illegal immigrant.

The population of the United States will hit the 300-million mark sometime in October, a milestone set to generate little celebration amid raging debate on immigration and concerns over the potential environmental impact.

Unlike the pomp and circumstance that greeted the 200-million mark in 1967, federal officials this year are not planning any major events to welcome the 300 millionth American, who many say will likely be Hispanic and possibly an illegal immigrant.

A spokesman at the Census Bureau said an announcement will be made to mark the coming milestone but there will be no celebrations of the scale organized by President Lyndon Johnson for the 200-million benchmark.

One reason is that illegal immigration is a hot-button topic that has sparked huge debate across the United States and is a key issue in upcoming legislative elections in November.

“There is nothing to celebrate, unless you think high housing costs and remarkable congestion and school overcrowding are reasons for celebration,” said John Keely, spokesman for the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington think-tank that seeks tighter immigration controls. “And much of that is linked to immigration and rapid population growth.”

Personally, I’m not one to worry about population growth.  There’s plenty of room on this planet, and if you don’t believe me consider the fact that every single human being on the globe could move to Alberta, Canada and still enjoy a population density that is less than Paris’.

But, of course, the idea that so much of our population growth is being driven by illegal immigration is troubling.  We can only hope that Congress and the President will stand behind the commitment they made to border security this legislative session and follow it up with more funding and added security if needed.

What I found sort of funny about this article, though, is the response to this news from the environmentalists:

There is also concern about the environmental impact of the growing population, which is expected to reach 400 million by mid-century and 600 million by the end of the 21st century.

“This 300 million mark is a good time for us to focus attention on the US population and its environmental impacts,” said Vicky Markham, director of the Center for Environment and Population, based in Connecticut. “In some ways you have to appreciate the kind of growth and prosperity in your country but on the other hand I see what kind of implications this has for the natural environment.

“That’s where the glass is half full and half empty.”

Markham pointed out that although the United States currently represents about five percent of the world population, its citizens are wreaking havoc on the environment at a rate surpassing any other country.

Americans, for example, produce five pounds of trash daily, five times the average in developing countries and the country is losing 3,000 acres of farmland every single day, mainly for development purposes.

“Land is developed at twice the rate of population growth today,” Markham said. “In other words, each American occupies 20 percent more developed land, for things like housing, schools and roads and shopping centers, than they did two decades ago.”

One almost gets the idea that Markham and her fellow environmentalists are just a few years away from beginning advocacy for mandatory birth control and government regulation of private property.