The pope last week said that it's selfish to adopt a pet instead of having a child. I actually think we're going to, just like all the other issues in society, have increasing polarization on this issue. We can't rapidly change the population size humanely, but we can rapidly change consumption humanely as we did during World War II.
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