Paul Ehrlich, author of The Population Bomb, had plenty of company in predicting certain societal collapse due to the over-population of humankind. He enjoyed an elevated notoriety during the environmental hysteria of the 1970's, appearing on the Johnny Carson tv show "at least twenty times."
He called for drastic population control by world governments, even suggesting that some nations (i.e., India) were not worth receiving U.S. foreign aid because their overpopulation had rendered them hopeless.
He wagered that five specific commodities would increase in price over ten years because of demand by runaway overpopulation. He lost the bet.
"The Bet" is filled chockablock with Mr. Ehrlich's outbursts—calling those who disagree with him "idiots," "fools," "morons," "clowns" and worse. His righteous zeal is matched by both his viciousness in disagreement and his utter imperviousness to contrary evidence."
This review was written by the author of What to Expect When No One's Expecting, the subject of my posts on demography in the "Less people" series May 2013.
No comments:
Post a Comment