Even as this course took shape, various organizations published the following relevant numbers (Source edited for size):

The U.S. birth rate fell to its lowest levels ever in 2011, according to a preliminary report released by the Pew Research Center….  Researchers said that the U.S.’s birth rate in 2011, which was estimated at 63.2 births per 1,000 women, “is the lowest since at least 1920, the earliest year for which there were reliable numbers.”

Of particular note to researchers was the fact that the birth rate among foreign-born women and immigrant women appears to have fallen drastically. Foreign-born women account for what the researchers referred to as a “disproportionate” number of U.S. births, and have done so for some time.

Here are some of the key numbers that emerged from the Pew Research Center’s report:

• 122.7: The recorded birth rate in 2011 is half that recorded in 1957, the peak year of the “Baby Boom.”
• 8: The overall U.S. birth rate declined by 8 percent between 2007 and 2010, according to the center’s report.
• 2.1: The average number of children that a U.S. woman would need to have in order to maintain current population levels, according to a report by the Washington Post. The current national average is 1.9 children per woman in the U.S.
• 9: As the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced earlier this year, the teen birth rate fell 9 percent between 2009 and 2010, dropping to the lowest rate it has been in the last 70 years. According to the Pew Research Center’s report, however, U.S.-born teens still account for 11 percent of all U.S. births, while foreign-born U.S. teens account for an additional 5 percent of all U.S. births.

A recent interview with Jonathan V. Last, who is Senior Writer of The Weekly Standard in Washington, DC. His writings have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, the Claremont Review of Books, the journal First Things, and others. His latest book is What to Expect When No One’s Expecting. The subtitle of the book is “America’s Coming Demographic Disaster.”  As a supplement to the material of this experience, consider listening to this interview for up to date and specific information about this issue in America.

So what do you think? What will you do about it as a citizen of the world?