Paul Ehrlich, co-author of the 1968 book “The Population Bomb,” made an appearance on CBS News’ 60 Minutes alongside host Scott Pelley, where the two discussed their belief that human population growth may be too much for the Earth to sustain.
According to Ehrlich, “Too many people, too much consumption and growth mania” has contributed to an allegedly depleting wildlife collapse on Earth.
“Humanity is not sustainable. To maintain our lifestyle (yours and mine, basically) for the entire planet, you’d need five more Earths. Not clear where they’re gonna come from,” Ehrlich informed Pelley.
Paul Ehrlich: "The next few decades will be the end of the kind of civilization we’re used to.”
CBS's @ScottPelley: "The 5 mass extinctions of the ancient past were caused by natural calamities … humanity may have to survive a 6th mass extinction in a world of its own making.” pic.twitter.com/Vf7DNPLGai
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) January 2, 2023
In 1968’s The Population Bomb, Ehrlich claimed that overpopulation would cause global food shortages and “greenhouse gases” would heat the oceans, melt the polar ice caps, and growing human populations would snuff out nature.
His work led to accusations of alarmism, which Ehrlich wholeheartedly embraced. “I was alarmed. I am still alarmed. All of my colleagues are alarmed,” he told 60 Minutes.
“I know there’s no political will to do any of the things that I’m concerned with, which is exactly why I and the vast majority of my colleagues think we’ve had it; that the next few decades will be the end of the kind of civilization we’re used to,” he told Pelley.
“The five mass extinctions of the ancient past were caused by natural calamities—volcanoes, and an asteroid. Today, if the science is right, humanity may have to survive a sixth mass extinction in a world of its own making,” Pelley said.
Valiant News reported on Monday that Redditors in r/Conspiracy unearthed a 13-year-old article by the British publication The Sunday Times detailing a secretive 2009 meeting between a cadre of ultra-wealthy billionaire financiers, who are said to have discussed curbing global “overpopulation” behind closed doors.
In the Times article, journalist John Harlow wrote that Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates hosted a secretive summit nicknamed the “Good Club” in 2009, featuring wealthy attendees such as David Rockefeller Jr, Warren Buffett, George Soros, Michael Bloomberg, Ted Turner, and Oprah Winfrey.
The topic of overpopulation has been frequently discussed online and in the press as of lately following remarks made by African American billionaire and Twitter CEO Elon Musk last Friday, who stated that some leftists and members of the global elite share a “very common” sentiment that the human race should be drastically reduced.
It is a very common sentiment, mostly implicit, sometimes explicit https://t.co/8JUc7eDZe4
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 30, 2022
“The idea that there are too many people generally stems from the axiomatic flaw that Earth’s environment can’t sustain its current population,” Musk said, later adding “It’s not some illuminati plot to destroy humanity, but rather an extension of the well-meaning environmental sustainability movement that has gone too far.”
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