4 posts tagged “ehrlich”

 We are regularly inforemed in all solemnity that the sorts of drastic changes proposed here are economically, politically, and socially impractical or unrealistic. No one has yet devised a plausible scheme, for example, to see that the reductions in throughputs of resources in the rich countries (if they could actually be achieved) are translated into increased availability of resources for rational development in the poor countries. Little real progress has been made on global disarmament by the superpowers, and extensive proliferation of nuclear weapons is widely (if quietly) held to be inevitable. The seriousness of population growth continues to be widely underestimated or misperceived by scholars and government alike. We believe it is past time for the social-science community to devote its full attention to the removal of these sociopolitical obstacles to societal survival, just as the physical-science and engineering communities must devote theirs to the transformation of technology. For the alternative of proceeding along the present course is not only even less practical economically, politically, and socially than the demanding changes that are required, it is also impractical physically. The real question, for those concerned about realistic solutions, is whether scholars and decision-makers of all varieties can devise ways to bring human behavior into harmony with physical reality in time.

Paul R. Ehrlich et al: ECOSCIENCE Population, Resources, Environment, 1970

The claim is often made that human beings are rational creatures, that people are capable of planning ahead and regulating their affairs accordingly, and that the world can be shaped to satisfy all human desires. But the evidence calls thee beliefs into question. Population explosions and associated overshoots of the carrying capacity of the environment have been common throughout human history, and the cancerous growth of the industrial society casts considerable doubt on the notion that the situation has fundamentally changed. What is now needed is a bold new step in social evolution that will put man’s favourable view of himself to the test. To make this step, a preferred and ecologically sound human future must be outlined, and social efforts and expectations must be modified to conform to it. This is not an impossibility, but it will required marshalling the intellectual resources of all societies and the acceptance of some sacrifices on the part of many individuals, especially in the overdeveloped countries.

The alternatives for mankind are now very clear. People can continue to ignore the dangerous consequences of present behaviour and painfully adjust to the inevitable through a series of crises. Or mankind can face up to the challenges and begin now to manage the future of the planet and the ecosphere. There can be no doubt that mankind must eventually come to terms with environmental imperatives; the only question that remains is which path will be taken.

            Dennis C Pirages and Paul R Ehrlich: Ark II – Social Response to Environmental Imperatives, 1974

Will anything be lost if it turns out later that we can support a much
larger population than seems possible today? Suppose we move to
stabilize the size of the human population after the "time of famines"
at two billion people, and we achieve that goal by 2050. Suppose that in
2051 someone invents a machine that will produce nutritious food or
anything else that man wants in limitless quantities out of nothing.
Assume also that in 2051 mankind is underpopulated with just two billion
people. Men decide that they want more company. Fortunately, people can
be produced in vast quantities by unskilled labor who enjoy their work.
In about 500 years, with the proper encouragement of reproduction, the
Earth could be populated to a density of about 100 individuals per
square foot of surface (land and sea). That is a density that should
please the loneliest person.

Remember, above all, that more than half of the world is in misery now.
That alone should be enough to galvanize us into action, regardless of
the exact dimensions of the future disaster now staring Homo sapiens in
the face.

        Paul R Ehrlich: The Population Bomb, 1968

The time has come to face up to the basic imbalances in our society and, through personal and (to whatever degree possible) political action, begin to loosen the tightest bonds of interdependence. When and if the real crunch comes, you will get precious little help from Washington or your state capital. If you are fortunate enough to live with good friends or relatives as neighbors, you may find assistance and cooperation there. And presumably your family will do what it can to help. But the one person you can depend on with complete assurance is yourself.

            Paul H and Anne H Ehrlich: The End of Affluence, 1974