This week the population of the United States officially hits 300 million—a staggering number, but not the highest in the world. In fact, the U.S. is third, behind China and India. But what does the milestone mean? From MSNBC: “People in the United States are consuming more than ever — more food, more energy, more natural resources. Open spaces are shrinking and traffic in many areas is dreadful.
But some experts argue that population growth only partly explains America’s growing consumption. Just as important, they say, is where people live, what they drive and how far they travel to work.”

Read the article and see the accompanying interactive map.

Other news articles on the population milestone:

• “The changing face of America” (San Francisco Chronicle)
• “People power: U.S. to top 300 million” (CNN)And some sites to put the population news in context:
• U.S. Census Bureau
• Population Reference Bureau
• Population ConnectionWhat do you think this population milestone means? Tell us.