A third of the greenhouse gas we put into the atmosphere that are changing the climate and desperately threatening our agriculture itself come from the food system. A lot of this is because of nitrogen ammonia fertilizers that come from natural gas over 50% of the nitrogen in our bodies comes from the Haberbaas process. Why don't more people recognize that energy from this carbon pulse is a core driver not only of our affluence and consumption but also our population? It's really pathetic. We have an economics department like most universities where the economists are daydream believers. They think you can grow forever. Well, they're blind in so many dimensions. Yeah, it's a horribly complex and emotionally charged
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