The PBS show NOVA is running an Earth Day program about population trends. The producer, Linda Harrar, does excellent work, so I expect it’ll be interesting. Already worth a few minutes’ review is the set of global maps on the program’s website. Unlike most such maps, this set includes some results at the subnational scale. Notice that, though the Northwest’s total population density is not high on a global scale, the rate of population increase in some parts of the region are astronomical.