Paul R. Ehrlich Essays

  • Overpopulation: Earth's Biggest Problem

    782 Words  | 2 Pages

    Three decades later in 1960, it reached three billion, and in 1975 it ballooned into four billion people (Howard, 1969). Paul R. Ehrlich, author of the book, “The population bomb” said in 1992 that the earth will be facing “the need to support at least twice its present population of humans whether the earth’s life support systems’ uncertainty of sustainability” (Daily and Ehrlich, 1992). He also projected that in 2025, the population of Earth will be at 8.5 billion, and eventually level off to 11

  • Too Many People? by Vanessa Baird

    1435 Words  | 3 Pages

    by Paul R. Ehrlich and Anne H. Ehrlich. Baird and Furedi concur that a concern for population growth has been around since mathematician Thomas Malthus, in 1798, warned that overpopulation could lead to “the collapse of society” (Furedi). Furedi claims that too much human life is being used as an excuse, by population control supporters, for the world’s current and future problems. Baird tries to discover if “the current panic over population growth is reasonable.” For Ehrlich and Ehrlich the

  • The Psychological Ramifications of Global Environmental Change

    731 Words  | 2 Pages

    continues the cycle of angst. Works Cited Doherty, T. J., & Clayton, S. (2011). The psychological impacts of global climate change. American Psychologist, 66(4), 265-276. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0023141 Ehrlich P.R. (1968). The Population Bomb. New York: Ballantine. Ford, D., Steward, J. R., & Bacus, J. (2013). Millennium Madness! Y2K?: A Content Analysis of Catastrophic Themes in Selected Print Media. Free Inquiry in Creative Sociology, 31(1), 89-98. Gardner, D. (2011). Future Babble: Why Pundits

  • Culture's Influence on Technology

    1230 Words  | 3 Pages

    will guide the "trajectories of cultural evolution" (Ehrlich 255) in completely unexpected ways. Even though cultures can and do have an effect on their course through history, it is only slight when compared to the monstrous effect that their technologies have on them. The nature and importance of this type of self-propagating relationship are described in Paul Ehrlich's book "Human Nature: Genes, Culture, and the Human Prospect." Ehrlich describes his own opinion on human development and feedback

  • Population Growth, Industrialization, and the Environment

    1509 Words  | 4 Pages

    natural resources and the destruction of ecosystems. In the 1960's, theorist Paul Ehrlich predicted that, given the skyrocketing figures of human population, the amount of food produced would not grow at a fast enough rate for human survival (Professor Carr Everbach, personal communication). He predicted mass starvation and death by the year 2000 as the result of uncontrolled population growth. Clearly, this did not occur. Ehrlich did not foresee the advancements ma... ... middle of paper ... ...hods

  • Relationship between Cultural Change and the Environment

    971 Words  | 2 Pages

    is clearly not a one-way street – it is a dynamic, interrelated, cyclic relationship. In his book Human Natures: Genes, Culture and the Human Prospect, Paul Ehrlich supports the concept that the development of culture and the advanceme... ... middle of paper ... ...s that, like the seal population, our environment is suffering. Ehrlich stresses that it is our duty - “our job” - to steer advancement of our culture in a direction that will allow us to have a sustainable society. “People don’t

  • The Relationship Between Culture and Technology

    1416 Words  | 3 Pages

    outside a culture is introduced into the culture, providing an external influence. As Paul Ehrlich explains, there are technological evolutions and associated cultural evolutions, and they do not necessarily occur concurrently. Ehrlich [believes] that, in our modern era, technology is evolving faster than culture, and a major cultural evolution needs to occur to be able to deal with modern technology properly. (NPR, Ehrlich) Throughout history, though, there have also been cultural evolutions that lead

  • Paul Ehrlich and His Advancements to the World of Medicine

    754 Words  | 2 Pages

    Paul Ehrlich and His Advancements to the World of Medicine The German bacteriologist Paul Ehrlich made important advances to the world of medicine. He is best remembered for his development of the arsenic compound number 606, which was used as a treatment of syphilis. As a Nobel Prize Winner and an honored scientist, fellow scientists and doctors praise Paul Ehrlich for his contributions. Ehrlich led a wonderful and intriguing life, which is greatly admired. Paul Ehrlich was born on March

  • The Population Explosion

    3628 Words  | 8 Pages

    doubling about every 40 years. We don't want to wait until the 79th year to fix our problem or else humankind will not have enough time to change the inevitable obstacles that come with overpopulation. In his book, The Population Explosion , Paul Ehrlich, a famous population controlist, came up with the equation I = PAT. He believes the impact on the environment is equal to the population multiplied by the affluence (meaning the amount of energy and food supply the population consumes) multiplied

  • Culture and the Environment on Easter Island and Tikopia

    2591 Words  | 6 Pages

    In his book Human Natures: Genes, Culture and the Human Prospect , Paul Ehrlich argues that the cultural practices of a given society develop largely as a result of the large-scale environmental factors of the area in which the society lives. He gives the striking example that all religions that developed in deserts are monotheistic, whereas those that began in rainforests are polytheistic (Ehrlich, pp 9 of handout, 2000). Ehrlich argues that the size and geography of a region, its climate, the availability

  • Causes And Contributions In Microbe Hunters By Paul De Kruif

    1825 Words  | 4 Pages

    Hunters, the author, Paul de Kruif, describes multiple scientists that participated in microbe hunting, where they tracked down the causes of many diseases in the world while trying to locate cures or preventives. From the 17th century until the 20th century, Paul de Kruif informs his readers about many diseases and the journey that many had to endure in order to prevent it from spreading. Three scientists that especially made their mark are Robert Koch, Élie Metchnikoff, and Paul Ehrlich. These three men

  • Overpopulation is Not Really a Problem

    1265 Words  | 3 Pages

    Essay on the Principle of Population. Rev. Malthus said that the growing European population would quickly outstrip its available resources. History tells us that Rev. Malthus' speculation was wrong. Following a path similar to that of Malthus, Paul Ehrlich presented us a book entitled The Population Bomb, in 1969. Ehrlich's book predicted that tens of millions of people would starve to death in the 1970s following an inescapable crash in the world's food supply. It also forecasted the elimination

  • The Cyclic Relationship Between Culture And Technology

    1893 Words  | 4 Pages

    hunter-gatherer society is the culture that was responsible for the invention of agriculture, as Ehrlich points out, “agriculture was thus invented gradually, piecemeal, and quite probably sometime reluctantly as groups changed time-honored lifestyles”(Ehrlich 15/26). The effect of this technology on the hunter-gatherer society was phenomenal, as it “put humanity on the road to sociopolitical complexity”(Ehrlich 17/26). The constant mobility as well as the scarce resources involved with the hunting

  • Agriculture: Evolution or Devolution?

    1257 Words  | 3 Pages

    tools they use are only doing exactly what they were supposed to and it cannot be helped. And moreover, this is so ingrained in most modern human cultures that the constituents of said cultures do not even see a problem with that. Sources Ehrlich, Paul R. "Human Natures: Genes Cultures, and the Human Prospect". Island Press, 2000. Cipolla, Carlo M. "The Economic History of World Population". The Harvester Press, 1978 Ponting, Clive. "A Green History of the World: The Environment and the

  • The Importance Of Overpopulation

    757 Words  | 2 Pages

    For more than fifty years and counting, Paul R. Ehrlich has been alerting people to the importance of overpopulation and the threats that it may pose. In his 1968 best seller, The Population Bomb, biologist Paul Ehrlich more specifically declared, "In the 1970s and 1980s, hundreds of millions of people will starve to death in spite of any crash programs embarked upon now." Famines on that scale never arrived. The most important question in this essay is what are the threats that overpopulation will

  • Chinas Population Problem

    1210 Words  | 3 Pages

    However primitive their ways of accomplishing this have shown to be, it must not be overlooked that it has proved effective in reducing China's immense population. Works Cited 1. "Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report" (C. Q. W. R.), June 5, 1993. 2. Ehrlich, Paul R. The population explosion, Simon and Schauster, New York, 1990. 3. Hsu, Mei-Ling, "Population of China: Large is not beautiful" Focus Spring 1992: vol. 42, no.1. 4. Linden, Eugene. "Too Many People" Times fall 1992: vol. 140, issue

  • Depletion of the Ozone Layer

    783 Words  | 2 Pages

    incidence of eye cataracts, which are patches of light blocking tissue which can lead to blindness (Ehrlich 120). It will also affect plants, which are sensitive to ultraviolet radiation. High levels will cause reduced stem and leaf growth in plants because photosynthetic activity is reduced or damaged. It also causes lower dry weight and affects plants’ ability to take in and use water (Ehrlich 120). This in turn reduces agricultural production and the food available to animals. Greater exposure

  • Culture And Technology: A Symbiotic Relationship

    1431 Words  | 3 Pages

    Culture and Technology: A Symbiotic Relationship Throughout human history the fundamental driving force behind any change culturally or technologically is the human goal. The innate human ability for abstract thought has made us able to project a plan for our own future. Originally our foresight directly pertained to our own survival, making our way to the next meal, and perpetually intertwined with our interaction with and relationship to our own environment. The living environments that we

  • Influence of Culture on Human Technology

    1396 Words  | 3 Pages

    Influence of Culture on Human Technology The influence that culture has had on human technology is undeniable. One could even go as far as to say that sometimes, it is difficult to distinguish between the two. The term “culture” is extremely difficult to define because of the vast array of meanings that people attach to it. For this very reason, it is imperative to examine the most basic notion of culture, namely: “the totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions

  • Global Governance

    1529 Words  | 4 Pages

    ethical and economic relationships. May his love guide every people on earth and strengthen their common consciousness of being a "family" ... ... middle of paper ... ...lnet/content2.aspx?c=bdKKISNqEmG&b=1316871&ct=8867219>. Ehrlich, Paul R., Anne H. Ehrlich, and John P. Holdren. Human Ecology; Problems and Solutions. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman, 1973. Print. "YouTube - White House Science Czar Says He'd Use 'Free Market' to 'De-Develop the United States'" YouTube - Broadcast Yourself