Paul R. Ehrlich

Paul Ralph Ehrlich (born May 29, 1932) is an American biologist, author and environmentalist known for his predictions and warnings about the consequences of population growth, including famine and resource depletion. Ehrlich is the Bing Professor Emeritus of Population Studies of the Department of Biology of Stanford University. Ehrlich became well known for the controversial 1968 book ''The Population Bomb,'' which he co-authored with his wife Anne H. Ehrlich, in which they famously stated that "[i]n the 1970s hundreds of millions of people will starve to death in spite of any crash programs embarked upon now." This position has led historians and critics to describe Ehrlich as a neo-Malthusian.

There are mixed views on Ehrlich's assertions on the dangers of expanding human populations. While statistician Paul A. Murtaugh says that Ehrlich was largely correct, Ehrlich has been criticized for his approach and views, both for their pessimistic outlook and for the failure of his predictions. As of 2004, Ehrlich has acknowledged that population growth is in decline, but believes overconsumption by wealthy nations is a major problem. He maintains that his warnings about disease and climate change were essentially correct. Journalist Dan Gardner criticizes Ehrlich for his cognitive dissonance in forecasting, asserting that Ehrlich takes credit for his successful predictions but fails to acknowledge his mistakes. Provided by Wikipedia