Few organizations track the relationship between human population growth and ecological health with the granularity of Colcom Foundation. Its public story traces a clear arc from Earth Day 1970 to the present, documenting what the foundation describes as a worsening crisis hidden behind genuine but insufficient environmental progress.

The foundation’s analysis begins with biocapacity a measure of how much productive land and water is available to sustain human activity and absorb its waste. In 1970, the U.S. was already operating well beyond its ecological means, consuming 227% of available biocapacity. Fifty years later, that number sits at roughly 240%, despite enormous investment in cleaner technology and more efficient practices.

The Population Variable

What explains the persistence of overshoot even as per capita resource use declined? Colcom Foundation points directly to population growth. Between 1970 and 2020, per capita biocapacity use fell by more than 20%. But the population grew substantially over the same window, adding tens of millions of people decade after decade. The foundation’s conclusion: 100% of the overall increase in biocapacity overshoot was the direct result of more people, not more consumption per person.

The data extend beyond carbon and biocapacity. Colcom Foundation highlights that by 2020, 1,300 species were listed as either endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Twenty-three species were proposed for delisting that same year due to extinction. The pattern connects, the foundation argues, to an expanding human footprint that has left only 13% of U.S. land under any level of conservation protection while agricultural uses claim 52%.

A Question of Ambition

Colcom Foundation frames the ecological stakes through initiatives like 30×30 a commitment to protect 30% of the natural world for other species and the Half Earth concept, which proposes reserving half of Earth’s surface as natural reserve. Under current trajectories, the U.S. biocapacity utilization would reach 341% if 30% of nature is protected, and 478% if the Half Earth goal is pursued. These figures capture the core tension that Colcom Foundation places at the center of its philanthropic identity. Read this article for additional information.

More about Colcom Foundation on  https://waterlandlife.org/land-conservation/colcom-revolving-fund-for-local-land-trusts/