April 27th, 2001.

Immigration Dims Calif. Power

Congratulations on "Will Power Crunch This Summer Melt Down California's Economy?" (National Issue, April 18). It was a superb job of insightful reporting to recognize that population growth is a primary (demand-side) factor in California's (and perhaps, soon, the nation's) energy crisis.

It is important to recognize the driving force behind California's 13.8% population increase during the last decade and, thus, the root cause of the unprecedented surge in energy demand that has left, and is continuing to leave, many Californians in the dark: mass immigration.

In fact, between 1990-1997, mass immigration accounted for 96% of California's population growth. Across the nation, immigration and the children born to recent immigrants accounted for over 70% of U.S. population growth during the 1990's.

Thus, the solution to this and any other energy crisis involves addressing the root cause: mass immigration-generated population growth. Carrying Capacity Network believes that in order to solve the energy and many other problems, it is essential to reduce legal immigration from over 1 million per year to 100,000 per year and to enforce laws against illegal immigration. Otherwise no reasonably forseeable amount of supply-side increases will solve the energy problem.

Robin Lazaro

Carrying Capacity Network

Washington D.C.