The Population Bomb
"The Population Bomb" is a provocative book authored by biologist Paul R. Ehrlich, first published in 1968 and revised in 1971. The work asserts that the rapid growth of the global population, primarily driven by the post-World War II baby boom, would soon exceed the Earth's capacity to produce sufficient food, leading to widespread famine and crises. Ehrlich's alarmist tone seeks to galvanize public action, advocating for urgent measures to control population growth, including potential governmental mandates, especially if voluntary efforts fail. He emphasizes that environmental degradation, exacerbated by technological advancements in agriculture, poses significant dangers alongside overpopulation.
The book has been met with both support and criticism; while it contributed to increasing awareness of population issues and prompted discussions on birth control, some scientists and activists challenged Ehrlich's predictions and the simplicity of his solutions. Despite the controversial nature of his claims, "The Population Bomb" played a key role in shaping the discourse on population control and environmentalism in the ensuing decades, reflecting a complex interplay of ecological and social concerns.
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The Population Bomb
Identification American nonfiction book
The Population Bomb was the first book to argue strongly that people and governments should start taking action to curtail the world’s overpopulation.
Date Published in 1968; revised in 1971
Author Paul R. Ehrlich
Key Figures
Paul R. Ehrlich (1932- ), social critic
This pocket-sized book, written in an alarmist manner with the goal of motivating people to make drastic changes in population size and the environment, received the Bestsellers Paperback of the Year Award in 1970. The book was written in an elemental style and with few statistics in the hope of reaching a mass market. The foreword was by the executive director of the Sierra Club. A revised and expanded version of the book was published in 1971, with updated facts and 30 percent new material.
Paul R. Ehrlich, a biologist, was founder and the first president of Zero Population Growth. He wrote that, about a decade before his book, world population had surpassed the ability of the earth to produce sufficient food for the world’s people. The direct cause of this, he argued, was the baby boom that followed World War II. Ehrlich noted that the world population was growing exponentially, and doubling time was decreasing, now taking only thirty to forty years. He predicted that the world would undergo vast famines sometime between 1970 and 1985, with hundreds of people starving to death before then unless they died of other catastrophes, such as plagues or thermonuclear war. He also argued that it was too late to change his prediction completely but that corrective efforts should begin immediately. To this end, pressure should be exerted to reduce population size drastically in both Third World and industrialized countries, including compulsory birth control in the United States if voluntary efforts did not work.
Ehrlich was also concerned with technological and biological changes, including the use of pesticides,that were being used to increase food production. He argued that destruction of the environment could cause more world turmoil and deaths than overpopulation. He supported the environmental movement but said that population control was the first threat. Ehrlich thought that scientists from multiple disciplines should be involved in civic and political activities and included in his book samples of forceful letters that had been written by other activists. He appeared on popular television talk shows to help increase public awareness. Even though he acknowledged that he might be overstating the case, he stressed that the issue was significant.
Impact
Paul Ehrlich’s severe criticism of modern technology and his “doomsday” predictions were challenged by some scientists and activists, especially activists in the Green Revolution—a movement to increase agricultural yields through technological and biological means. Other critics said that the situation was more complex, while some said that the inaccuracy of his predictions over massive famine led to decreased concern over the population explosion. Increased emphasis on birth control in the United States did occur, however, and the birth rate in Third World countries underwent major decreases during the 1970’s and beyond.
Bibliography
Carson, Rachel. Silent Spring. Reprint. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002.
Mazur, Leslie Ann, ed. Beyond the Numbers: A Reader on Population, Consumption, and the Environment. Washington, D.C.: Island Press, 1994.