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Show THE FUTURE . . . UTAH'S PLACE IN IT Today, the State of Utah, proud of its past, looks to its future. The passage of years has not lessened the deeply rooted desire of its people for the full realization of the values of the resources of their State. As a community of American people, they know the State's destiny is part of the whole. There is no mere provincialism to spur development. Instead there is firm realization that, as part of the western country, Utah must share joint responsibility for providing opportunity for a growing population, for the development of resources needed for the national security and for the rounding out of a stable economy. The expansion of the Nation- in peace and in war- has had definite impact upon the resources required to maintain free enterprise in the pursuit of happiness and security. The richness of the continent- its mantle of forest, its rolling acres, the wide rivers, the wealth of hidden minerals- seemed to provide excuse for profligacy in the use of its natural resources. Today, there is somber realization that nothing is inexhaustible which is not wisely used and developed for the common good. The ravages of erosion in the United States- sweeping 500,000 acres of top soil to the ocean each year- demand the development of new, fresh lands to replace those whose fertility has become marginal through misuse. Fire, insects, disease and the lumberman's ax have reduced our forests to a mere fraction of what the pioneers encountered in their conquest of the Nation; no effort may now be great enough to bring about a sustained crop of lumber soon enough to meet the Nation's minimum requirements. Our reserves of petroleum are now thought to have reached a critical stage of depletion, calling for major imports from distant lands and for heroic effort to develop commercial technology to wrest synthetic liquid fuels from coal and oil shales. In practically every category of minerals important to our modern industrial economy, there is increasing evidence that our domestic commercial reserves are drawing down to a level which necessitates accelerated explor- WATER FOR UTAH ation and large programs of research on the utilization of mineral grades hitherto unacceptable to industry. THE UNITED STATES IS NOT STATIC ... NEITHER IS UTAH ... The Nation ... The Nation's population continues to grow: by 1950, probably 147,500,000 people; by I960, perhaps 155,000,000. And by 1990, it is probable that 165,000,000 will demand matching opportunity for secure livelihood. This means more land for agriculture; better cropping; more water for fertile but now arid lands; more minerals for the metals and non- metals industry; more power to process industrial raw materials and to manufacture useful products; more energy of all kinds- from oil, coal and gas, and from falling water. It means greater utilization of all the domestic resources of the Nation; and therefore it requires urgently the application to the full of conservation, the development of every value of all resources, and the substitution of commonplace materials for those which are in rare and small supply. . . . Utah and the West . . . The growth of the nation has resulted in a redistribution of population and its supporting activities. For the period 1940- 1947, the population of the West was growing at a rate four times that of the Nation. Utah's increase was 16% as compared to the United States' average of 8.9%. ( See Map 5- Population Changes-- page 4.) Estimates place the future increases in Utah from 675,000 in June of 1947 to about 750,000 in 1950, 950,000 in I960 and a probable total of 1,100,000 in 1970. ( See Chart I - Potential Population Trends- Utah, page 5.) In terms of western trends, these estimates seem conservative. The growth curve does not seem to falter, and Utah can look forward to its share of population increases provided it can continue to furnish expanding opportunities in agriculture, industry and the services, which depend on the securing of additional water and power supplies. ] |