That and a lot more information are provided in the Thursday, October 12, edition of "Al's Morning Meeting," available from the Poynter Institute at http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=2&aid=112019. In addition to the snapshot numbers above, the piece provides practical links to population web sites and to a number of newspaper articles dealing with the issues associated with U.S. population growth. Highlighted is a five–part series by the Christian Science Monitor dating between September 12 and October 10.

Part three of the five-part Monitor series deals with "the environmental load of 300 million, but those hoping for simple yes/no-up/down answers to complex questions are likely to leave unsatisfied.

The Monitor series, written by Brad Knickerbocker and others, makes clear that much of the nation's next 100 million people – expected in about 2043 – will continue the western and southern migration that has made those parts of the country grow at rates two to three times faster than the Northeast and Midwest. "The great American midsection, meanwhile, will continue to empty out," Knickerbocker writes.

An important precaution put forward by the Poynter Institute's Al Tompkins in his "Morning Meeting":

"Journalists, no doubt, will search for the mythical 300 millionth American. But remember, it might be a baby born at the exact time that the official population estimate rolls over to 300 million or it could be an immigrant entering the United States at that time. Either is possible."