"I don't think we have to compromise between a growing population and a better way of life," he said. "We are living longer, and infant mortality is down. We certainly have plenty to eat, and our homes are bigger."

Baird suggested the world needs to change the way it thinks about economies so that economies don't have to constantly grow to sustain themselves.

"It's the biggest challenge since the agricultural revolution or the industrial revolution," he said. "I don't believe we can keep getting bigger."

Griswold acknowledged there are challenges as the population grows. As immigration plays a larger role in sustaining the population, he said there is a need for improving education so that both U.S.-born and immigrant children get the best education possible. And, even with the growing population, he said the nation needs to reform programs such as Social Security and Medicare, to keep them viable as the population ages.

As the birthrate hovers around replacement levels, immigration is playing a larger role in the nation's growth.

Utah is somewhat unique in that its growth continues to be largely fueled by natural increase. However, the state's strong economy has raised in-migration, from other states and countries, to half the total population growth, said Robert Spendlove, manager of demographic and economic analysis for the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget.

As the nation faces the challenge of an aging baby boomer population, Utah is also seeing the added challenge of an increasing school age population. School enrollment is expected to rise by 150,000 over the next 10 years, Spendlove said.

"People look at Utah and they see a young, well-educated, hard-working, strong, growing work force," Spendlove said.

He said Utah's population growth isn't likely to raise sustainability concerns any time soon, saying there's plenty of land and food.

"It's possible if water use remains the exact same, it could slow growth," Spendlove said. "One way to deal with that kind of growth constraint is to change our water habits."

Lawson LeGate, senior southwestern regional representative for the Sierra Club, says he sees positives such as more people turning to xeriscaping and a ballot initiative that could mean the expansion of light rail in Utah and Salt Lake counties.

However, he said Utah can also do more in areas from water conservation to developing a plan for renewable energy use.

"The challenge is how do we grow," LeGate said. "In some neighborhoods, people take out their lawns and plant drought-tolerant species; that's very wise. There are other things we can do to use water more wisely."

Maged Senbel, U. architectural planning professor, said rather than continuing urban sprawl into suburbs, communities should be planned in a way that brings people closer together in a smaller space.

While he conceded such housing may not be for everyone, developments such as town homes and condominiums can be developed in a way that's attractive to families.

"We need to further support areas that allow people to live and work and play and go to school and go to church within a smaller geographic area," he said. "It's sometimes hard for us to imagine if we live closer together that would be desirable, but there are lots of examples healthy thriving communities. There's a lot of benefits to living in closer proximity to others."

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E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com