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A century ago, in 1902, just the year before the University of Puerto Rico was formally established, life expectancy for males on this island was 29.8 years; 31 years for females, or 30.36 years average. By 1950, life expectancy for males was 59.45 years; for females it was 62.43 years, or 60.85 years average. Our life expectancy doubled in half a century. By 1975, our average life expectancy was 75.28 years: a 50 percent increase over 1950. Total: 150 percent increase in life expectancy in a century. That's life expectancy, or how long one may be expected to stick around.
Now let's look at population growth, or how many more are going to be around while you stick around. In 1765, our population was 44,883. Ten years later, in 1775, it reached 70,250. Twenty-five years later, it more than doubled, to 155,426. By 1832, it more than doubled again; this time to 330,051. By 1877, it more than doubled again; now to 731,648. Double of this would be 1.4 million. We reached 1,543,913 by 1930. Double of that would be 3 million. By 1980, we were 3,196,520. We were 3,815,893 by 2000, and we will be 4 million before 2010, or one hundred times the total population of the island in 1765.
There are more people alive today upon the face of the earth than the number who have ever died throughout the history of mankind. This means, of course, that there are more people alive in Puerto Rico today than all those who have lived here since the days of the Taíno. So, when we talk about environmental problems, we are the enemy. If you do not believe me, get out your pocket calculators. The population of Puerto Rico for the year 2000 was 3,815,893. For 1990 it was 3,522,037. In the decade between 1990 and 2000 our population increased by 293,856 inhabitants. Round this off to 294,000. The increase over the past decade is equivalent to the total population of Bayamón (231,845) plus Cataño (32,391) plus Loíza (27,904) plus 1,860.
Let's talk about some basic human needs of these additional people. At the rate of 4 people per housing unit, our new populaton needs 73,500 additional housing units, or 7,350 new houses each year. At the rate of 70 gallons of drinking water per person per day, the new population requires 20,580,000 gallons of drinking water per day. At the rate of 20 gallons per person per day of sewage, the new population generates 5,880,000 daily gallons of additional sewage per day. The new population also requires some 110 additional megawattsof electric power generation. If we assume our work force to be 31 percent of the population, our new population required 91,095 new jobs. At a rate of 5 pounds of trash per person per day, our new population generates 1,470,00 additional pounds of garbage per day, or 735 tons of garbage per day.
Although not a basic need, at a rate of one motor vehicle for each 2.3 inhabitants, our new population added 127,826 more vehicles every. These cars need more roads and more parking spaces. All this means, of course, that we need additional power plants, more power transmission and distribution grids, additional public lighting, more streets, roads and highways, more schools, more hospitals and medical services, more shopping centers, more security, corrections facilities and police, more parks and recreation, more sewage treatment plants, more drinking water purification facilities, more aqueducts, more garbage collection, more garbage dumps, . . .all things that people oppose!! To obtain permits for any of these facilities is getting more difficult and delays efforts to meet the real, basic and immediate needs of society.
Hey, guys, we don't fit!! What is to be done?
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