Sawing off the Limb on Which We are Perched
To commemorate the 32nd World Population Day on July 11, 2022, we are honored to be joined by the legendary Paul Ehrlich, who also celebrates his 90th birthday this year. Author of over 40 books, including the best-selling book The Population Bomb, published in 1968, Dr. Ehrlich was made more famous by numerous appearances on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson - the largest late night show in the 1960’s and 70’s.
We got the rare opportunity to chat with him about his decades-long career in sustainable population advocacy, his studies on natural butterfly populations, as well as his interest in cultural evolution with respect to environmental ethics. We delved into:
why the population bomb was not a dud
a 50,000-ft view of humanity’s evolution over the last 300,000 years and the misunderstood and manufactured “normal” that currently defines us
the need to end the unhelpful consumption vs. population debate
optimal population size and wealth redistribution for a decent standard of living for all
the ethics of nation states and borders
rights to nature
the threat of a nuclear war
the impacts of the agricultural revolution on the human jaw
the maddening rate of planetary degradation and biodiversity loss
a variety of urgent solutions that must be undertaken
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Episode 75 Dr. Kimya Nuru Dennis: The Unique Challenges of Being Black and Childfree
Ms. Magazine article by Nandita Bajaj: Abortion Bans Are a Natural Outgrowth of Coercive Pronatalism
A Finnish phenomenon: Where students learn how to ask, not only answer, questions
Book - Jaws: The Story of a Hidden Epidemic Sandra Kahn and Paul R. Ehrlich
Optimum human population size Gretchen C. Daily, Anne H. Ehrlich & Paul R. Ehrlich
Returning to “Normal”? Evolutionary Roots of the Human Prospect Paul R Ehrlich, Anne H Ehrlich