In a recent letter, Richard Evans argued that Utah lacks the land and water to sustain population growth. Yet Utah is one of the least densely populated regions on Earth, with just 43 people per square mile — far below Israel, Massachusetts or Japan. Prices reflect scarcity, and Utah’s water costs — $2 per 1,000 gallons in St. George, $4.50 in Salt Lake City — show abundance, not scarcity.
Evans, like Thanos in “Avengers: Infinity War” and Malthus two centuries and 7 billion people ago, conflate atoms with resources. Atoms alone have no economic value; knowledge transforms matter into resources. Phones, cars, and water all gain value from human ingenuity. Population growth compounds knowledge: Gale Pooley’s “Superabundance” shows every 1% growth in population drives roughly 4% growth in resource abundance. More people mean more brains applying ideas to atoms.
Israel illustrates this principle. Israel’s population density is 26 times Utah’s (and has a higher fertility rate), yet it thrives by applying knowledge — developing affordable desalination, irrigating deserts, and innovating agriculture. Utah — like Israel — was once dismissed as an uninhabitable desert. Human ingenuity made both bloom into thriving homes for millions. Similarly, the Netherlands has reclaimed 17% of its land from the sea. Human ingenuity turns apparent scarcity into abundance.
Evans writes, “One cannot vote land and water into existence.” True, but we can innovate and vote ourselves into abundance. Utah’s housing affordability, mentioned by Evans, reflects policy, not scarcity. Regulatory costs account for nearly a quarter of new home prices (NAHB), and restrictive zoning limits lot supply.
Gov. Cox’s abundance agenda recognizes this fundamental truth: we are not running out of resources — we are running out of imagination. When we expand knowledge, we expand possibilities.
When people are free to innovate, scarcity becomes opportunity, and abundance follows.
Logan Taggart, La Veta, Colorado
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