In 1968, we peaked at 2.1% growth per year and now we're down to 1%. And countries like South Korea are down to 0.8%. There's a lot of panic today in various places about declining birth rates,. changing age structure in a population. The only way you can avoid the problem of a shift towards an older population is to keep the population growing forever.
On this episode, we meet with Professor Emeritus of Population Studies at Stanford University and author of The Population Bomb, Paul Ehrlich.
Ehrlich discusses what has happened with the human population situation in the decades since he published The Population Bomb. Why has humanity not responded to our long-term sustainability challenges? How would Ehrlich frame contemporary discussions about population?
In a wide-ranging conversation spanning stories about his appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson to how the environmental movement merged with corporate greenwashing, Ehrlich provides colorful and interesting commentary on the human predicament.
About Paul Ehrlich
Paul Ehrlich is the Bing Professor Emeritus of Population Studies at Stanford University and author of many books, including The Population Bomb.
For Show Notes and Transcript visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/09-paul-ehrlich