Population Bomb author Paul Ehrlich dead at 93

Longtime Stanford biology professor and population scientist Paul Ehrlich died on Friday at the age of 93, according to Population Connection, an activist organization he co-founded. Ehrlich was known for his 1968 book, The Population Bomb, which he wrote alongside his wife Anne. The book warned that rapid population growth would lead to widespread starvation as human needs outstripped available resources. He advocated for solutions including mass sterilization. Ehrlich had one daughter, according to Population Connection.

Ehrlich co-founded Population Connection, originally named Zero Population Growth, the same year his book was published. The organization advocates for so-called family planning, abortion, and zero population growth, according to its website.

An agriculture boom dubbed the Green Revolution began around the time Ehrlich’s book was published. Later in his career, Ehrlich argued that while his predictions about widespread famine were wrong, his work raised awareness of important issues such as water shortages, climate damage, and overconsumption by rich countries, according to Population Connection. He continued to warn that the modern Western lifestyle was unsustainable and would drain Earth’s resources. He received several scientific prizes for his work in both biology and population fields.

How have critics responded to Erlich’s apocalyptic ideas? Author and journalist Michael Shellenberger, who wrote a book rebutting Ehrlich’s claims, accused Ehrlich of spreading lies. He spread irresponsible and pseudoscientific alarmism, such as the false statement that Earth was experiencing its sixth mass extinction event, Shellenberger said.

In one 2023 letter to The Wall Street Journal, Kenneth Emde of Woodbury, Minn., said he took Ehrlich’s warnings to heart and thus had no grandchildren, while the Earth’s population reached 8 billion without dire consequences. Emde went on to call himself stupid and gullible for relying on Ehrlich’s claims.

Dig deeper: Read R. Albert Mohler Jr.’s World Opinions reflection on Ehrlich’s legacy.