Anne H. Ehrlich

Last updated
Anne Howland Ehrlich
Born (1933-11-17) November 17, 1933 (age 90)
Alma materUniversity of Kansas
Known for The Population Bomb (1968)

The Population Explosion (1990)
The Stork and the Plow (1995)
One With Nineveh (2008)
The Dominant Animal (2013)

Can a collapse of global civilization be avoided? (2013)

Contents

Scientific career
FieldsConservation biology
InstitutionsStanford University

Anne Howland Ehrlich (born Anne Fitzhugh Howland; November 17, 1933) is an American scientist and author who is best known for the predictions she made as a co-author of The Population Bomb with her colleague and husband, Paul R. Ehrlich. She has written or co-written more than thirty books on overpopulation and ecology, including The Stork and the Plow (1995), with Gretchen Daily, and The Dominant Animal: Human Evolution and the Environment (2008), among many other works. [1] [2] She also has written extensively on issues of public concern such as population control, environmental protection, and environmental consequences of nuclear war. [2] [3] [4]

She is seen is one of the key figures in the debate on conservation biology. [5] The essence of her reasoning is that unlimited population growth and man's unregulated exploitation of natural resources form a serious threat to the environment. [6] Her publications have been a significant source of inspiration to the Club of Rome. [6] By 1993, the Ehrlichs' perspective has become the consensus view of scientists as represented by the "World Scientists' Warning to Humanity". [7] [8]

She co-founded the Center for Conservation Biology at Stanford University with Paul Ehrlich, where she serves as policy coordinator after being an associate director from 1987 on. [9] [10] She served as one of seven outside consultants to the White House Council on Environmental Quality's Global 2000 Report (1980). [3]

She is a senior research scientist emeritus in conservation biology in the Department of Biology at Stanford University.

Career

From 1952 to 1955, Anne Ehrlich attended the University of Kansas and performed scientific research on population biology, publishing numerous scientific articles. [11] She began her scientific collaboration with Paul Ehrlich in the late 1950s through research on butterflies as a test system for answering key questions of biological classification, ecology, and evolution. [7]

Since 1987, Anne Ehrlich has worked as associate director and policy coordinator of the Center for Conservation Biology at Stanford University. [3]

In 1994 she received the United Nations Sasakawa Environment Prize with Paul Ehrlich and in 1995 they received the 1st Annual Heinz Award in the Environment. [3]

In 1994 and 1995, she served on a task group for academics and scientists for the President's Commission on Sustainable Development. [12]

She has served and serves on the board of a wide range of organizations: Friends of the Earth (1976-1985), Conferences on the Fate of the Earth (1981-1984), the Center for Innovative Diplomacy (1981–1992), Redefining Progress (1994–1996), the Ploughshares Fund (1990-2003) and the Sierra Club (1996-2002). [3] She chaired the Sierra Club's Committee on Military Impacts on the Environment from 1985 to 1994. Until 2003 she sat on the board of advisors for the Federation for American Immigration Reform. [3]

For ten years she was a member of the board of directors at the Center for Innovative Diplomacy, Pacific Institute, Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (1989-1999). [3] As of 1988 she served on the board of the Pacific Institute for Studies in Environment, Development, and Security and as of 2002 of the New-Land Foundation.

Ehrlich is involved in the Millennium Assessment of Human Behavior (MAHB) which she co-founded with husband Paul and Professor Donald Kennedy. [10]

From 1994 on she published a series of newsletters titled "Ecofables/Ecoscience," using science to debunk myths about humans' relationship to the environment. [7] [13]

Personal life

Ehrlich was born in Des Moines, Iowa, the daughter of Virginia Lippincott (Fitzhugh) Howland and Winston Densmore. [14] Throughout her childhood she was fascinated by nature, preferring to be outside learning about wildflowers and geography. As a teenager she read Our Plundered Planet by Fairfield Osborn, Columbia University professor of zoology, member of the wildlife conservation organization Boone and Crockett Club and fossil collector. [14] She was influenced by his critique of humankind's poor stewardship of Earth and its environmental destruction by humans. [5]

She married Paul R. Ehrlich in 1954. The couple has one daughter, Lisa, born in 1955. [3] The Population Bomb has been devoted to Lisa, and The Population Explosion to their grandchildren. [15] [16]

Writings

The Population Bomb (1968)

The phrase "population bomb" was first used in a 1958 pamphlet by advertising professional and entrepreneur Hugh Moore. [15] [17] The original edition of The Population Bomb began with this statement: [15]

"The battle to feed all of humanity is over. In the 1970s hundreds of millions of people will starve to death in spite of any crash programs embarked upon now. At this late date nothing can prevent a substantial increase in the world death rate ..."

The Ehrlichs argued that the human population was too great, and that while the extent of disaster could be mitigated, humanity could not prevent severe famines, the spread of disease, social unrest, and other negative consequences of overpopulation.[ citation needed ]

By the end of the 1970s, this prediction and many others throughout the text proved to be wildly incorrect. However, they continued to argue that societies must take strong action to decrease population growth in order to mitigate future disasters, both ecological and social.[ citation needed ]

The Population Explosion (1990)

In their sequel to The Population Bomb, the Ehrlichs purport to describe how the world's growing population dwarfs the Earth's capacity to sustain current living standards and why overpopulation is a number one environmental problem. The book calls for action to confront population growth and the ensuing crisis: [18]

"When is an area overpopulated? When its population can't be maintained without rapidly depleting nonrenewable resources (or converting renewable resources into nonrenewable ones) and without degrading the capacity of the environment to support the population. In short, if the long-term carrying capacity of an area is clearly being degraded by its current human occupants, that area is overpopulated."

While the Ehrlichs concede that consumption and technology must also share the blame for environmental crises, priority should be given to achieving population control as a means of stopping further destruction. "Rapid population growth in poor nations is an important reason they stay poor, and overpopulation in those nations will greatly increase their destructive impact on the environment as they struggle to develop,". [19]

Optimum Human Population Size (1994)

In this paper, the Ehrlichs discuss their opinion on the 'optimal size' for human population, given current technological realities. They refer to establishing "social policies to influence fertility rates." [20]

The Stork and the Plow (1995)

A well-reasoned book of how poverty forces unsustainable use of natural resources, with proposals how food production might stay ahead of population growth, together with Gretchen C. Daily. The authors look at the interaction between population and food supply and offer a strategy for balancing human numbers with nutritional needs. Their proposals include improving the status of women by giving them equal education, reducing racism and religious prejudice, reforming the agricultural system, and shrinking the growing gap between rich and poor. [21] [22]

This generation faces a set of challenges unprecedented in their scope and severity and in the shortness of time left to resolve them. . . . The Stork and the Plow sets these out thoughtfully [and] accurately. . . . We can all hope this urgent message is carefully heeded.

— Henry W. Kendall, Nobel laureate and Julius A. Stratton Professor of Physics, MIT

One With Nineveh (2005)

The title refers to Rudyard Kipling's 1897 poem "Recessional", "Lo, all our pomp of yesterday / Is one with Nineveh and Tyre!", alluding to the arrogance that went before the fall of historic Mesopotamian civilizations. Named a Notable Book for 2005 by the American Library Association, Ehrlich offers a lucid synthesis of the major issues of our time: rising consumption, still-growing world population, and unchecked political and economic inequity. Grounded in science, economics, and history, she puts political and environmental debates in a larger context and formulates a range of possible solutions for improving our future prospect, from local actions to reform of national government to international initiatives. [23]

The Dominant Animal (2008)

The Ehrlichs in this popular book explore in a unique way how humans have evolved from vulnerable creatures clawing nourishment from Earth to a sophisticated global society manipulating every inch of it: they have become the dominant animal. They question why we are creating a world that threatens our own species and offer suggestions what can we do to change the current trajectory. [24]

Can a collapse of global civilization be avoided? (2013)

This report reminds of how the collapse of numerous civilizations have, in the past, been caused by the degradation of nature, and how that process in present times makes a global collapse appearing likely. Overpopulation, overconsumption by the rich and poor choices of technologies are major drivers; dramatic cultural change provides the main hope of averting calamity. [25]

Awards and honors

Bibliography

Selected works, jointly authored with colleague and husband Paul Ehrlich:

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>The Population Bomb</i> 1968 book predicting worldwide famine

The Population Bomb is a 1968 book co-authored by former Stanford University professor Paul R. Ehrlich and former Stanford senior researcher in conservation biology Anne H. Ehrlich. From the opening page, it incorrectly predicted worldwide famines due to overpopulation, as well as other major societal upheavals, and advocated immediate action to limit population growth. However regional famines have persisted on a constant basis since the publication of the book. Fears of a "population explosion" existed in the mid-20th century baby boom years, but the book and its authors brought the idea to an even wider audience.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human population planning</span> Practice of controlling rate of growth

Human population planning is the practice of managing the growth rate of a human population. The practice, traditionally referred to as population control, had historically been implemented mainly with the goal of increasing population growth, though from the 1950s to the 1980s, concerns about overpopulation and its effects on poverty, the environment and political stability led to efforts to reduce population growth rates in many countries. More recently, however, several countries such as China, Japan, South Korea, Russia, Iran, Italy, Spain, Finland, Hungary and Estonia have begun efforts to boost birth rates once again, generally as a response to looming demographic crises.

Overconsumption describes a situation where a consumer overuses their available goods and services to where they can't, or don't want to, replenish or reuse them. In microeconomics, this may be described as the point where the marginal cost of a consumer is greater than their marginal utility. The term overconsumption is quite controversial in use and does not necessarily have a single unifying definition. When used to refer to natural resources to the point where the environment is negatively affected, is it synonymous with the term overexploitation. However, when used in the broader economic sense, overconsumption can refer to all types of goods and services, including manmade ones, e.g. "the overconsumption of alcohol can lead to alcohol poisoning". Overconsumption is driven by several factors of the current global economy, including forces like consumerism, planned obsolescence, economic materialism, and other unsustainable business models and can be contrasted with sustainable consumption.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul R. Ehrlich</span> American biologist (1932–present)

Paul Ralph Ehrlich is an American biologist 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, and President of Stanford's Center for Conservation Biology.

An ecological or environmental crises occurs when changes to the environment of a species or population destabilizes its continued survival. Some of the important causes include:

The Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement is an annual award for environmental science, environmental health, and energy. Tyler Laureates receive a $250,000 cash prize and a medallion. The prize is administered by the University of Southern California and was established by John and Alice Tyler in 1973. It is regarded as the "Nobel for environment".

Population Connection is a non-profit organization in the United States that raises awareness of population challenges and advocates for improved global access to family planning and reproductive health care. The organization was founded in 1968 by Paul R. Ehrlich, Richard Bowers, and Charles Remington in the wake of Ehrlich's best-selling book, The Population Bomb. The organization adopted its current name in 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garrett Hardin</span> American ecologist (1915–2003)

Garrett James Hardin was an American ecologist and microbiologist. He focused his career on the issue of human overpopulation, and is best known for his exposition of the tragedy of the commons in a 1968 paper of the same title in Science, which called attention to "the damage that innocent actions by individuals can inflict on the environment". He is also known for Hardin's First Law of Human Ecology: "We can never do merely one thing. Any intrusion into nature has numerous effects, many of which are unpredictable." Garrett held hardline anti-immigrant positions as well as positions on eugenics and multiethnicism that have led multiple sources to label him a white nationalist. Beginning in the late 2010s, the Southern Poverty Law Center declared his publications "frank in their racism and quasi-fascist ethnonationalism".

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pamela J. Bjorkman</span> American biochemist

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Human overpopulation describes a concern that human populations may become too large to be sustained by their environment or resources in the long term. The topic is usually discussed in the context of world population, though it may concern individual nations, regions, and cities.

<i>Our Plundered Planet</i> 1948 environmental book Fairfield Osborn

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carol L. Boggs</span> American biologist

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References

  1. ↑ University, Stanford (2016-09-14). "Anne Ehrlich". Stanford News. Retrieved 2022-11-25.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Friedman, Lynne; Basu, Janet (March 18, 1998). "Tyler Prize goes to Ehrlichs". news.stanford.edu. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Center for Conservation Biology | Anne Howland Ehrlich, biography". 2011-06-27. Archived from the original on 2011-06-29. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
  4. ↑ "Anne H. Ehrlich's research while affiliated with Stanford University and other places". researchgate.
  5. 1 2 White Scheuering, Rachel W. "Shapers of the Great Debate on Conservation: A Biographical Dictionary|Hardcover". Barnes & Noble. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  6. 1 2 Altena, Trijntje van. "Paul R. Ehrlich". Heineken Prizes. Retrieved 2022-11-27.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "1998 Tyler Laureates". Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
  8. ↑ "New book by Paul and Anne Ehrlich strikes back at "brownlash" (10/96)". news.stanford.edu. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  9. 1 2 "Paul and Anne Ehrlich honored with Nuclear Age Peace Awards". news.stanford.edu. Retrieved 2022-11-27.
  10. 1 2 "Paul R. Ehrlich | Center for Conservation Biology". ccb.stanford.edu. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
  11. ↑ Anne Ehrlich, Stanford
  12. ↑ "Anne Howland Ehrlich". Population Media Center. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
  13. ↑ "Écoscience list of issues". Taylor & Francis. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
  14. 1 2 White, Rachel; Scheuering, Rachel White (2004). Shapers of the Great Debate on Conservation: A Biographical Dictionary. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 130–131. ISBN   978-0-313-32826-8.
  15. 1 2 3 Ehrlich, Paul R. (1968). The population bomb. Internet Archive. New York, Ballantine Books.
  16. ↑ Howland Ehrlich, Anne; Ehrlich, Paul R. "The Population Explosion". www.ditext.com. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  17. ↑ Jacobsen, Peter (2022-03-31). "Meet the Advertising Expert who Inspired Today's Anti-Population Propaganda | Peter Jacobsen". fee.org. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  18. ↑ Ehrlich, Paul R.; Ehrlich, Anne H. (1990). The population explosion . London: Hutchinson. pp.  39–40. ISBN   978-0091745516 . Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  19. 1 2 "ENVIRONMENT/POPULATION: 1994 U.N. prize winner shocks scholars". Inter Press Service. 1994-11-09. Retrieved 2022-11-27.
  20. ↑ Daily, Gretchen C.; Ehrlich, Anne H.; Ehrlich, Paul R. (July 1994). "Optimum Human Population Size". Population and Environment: A Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies. Human Sciences Press. 15 (6): 469–475. doi:10.1007/BF02211719. S2CID   153761569. Archived from the original on 2017-08-17.
  21. ↑ "The Stork and the Plow". Yale University Press. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
  22. ↑ Zaba, Basia (1996). "How many people can we support?". Nature. 379 (6563): 308–309. Bibcode:1996Natur.379..308Z. doi: 10.1038/379308a0 . ISSN   1476-4687. S2CID   36085033.
  23. ↑ "One With Nineveh". Island Press. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
  24. ↑ "The Dominant Animal: Human Evolution and the Environmen..." Goodreads. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
  25. 1 2 Howland Ehrlich, Anne; Ehrlich, Paul R. (2013-03-07). "Can a collapse of global civilization be avoided?". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 280 (1754): 20122845. doi:10.1098/rspb.2012.2845. PMC   3574335 . PMID   23303549.
  26. ↑ "The Heinz Awards, Paul and Anne Ehrlich profile". Heinzawards.net. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
  27. ↑ Friedmann, Lynne; Basu, Jane (March 17, 1998). "1998 Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement awarded to Anne and Paul Ehrlich of Stanford University (3/98)". news.stanford.edu. Retrieved 2022-11-27.
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