Journalist Fred Pearce on Population
This week: I’m devoting the entire episode to population. Is overpopulation still a threat to our planet? I talk to veteran environmental journalist Fred Pearce, author of the new book The Coming Population Crash: and Our Planet’s Surprising Future. (See book cover on the left.) Pearce argues that consumption, not population, is the biggest environmental threat we face. Pearce is also the guest in our latest Science Forum discussion. So don’t forget to stop by and join the conversation.
Population or Consumption? Many environmentalists blame environmental problems on overpopulation. There are 7 billion of us on the planet today, and that number keeps rising. But population is no longer a serious threat says environmental journalist Fred Pearce. In The Coming Population Crash: and Our Planet’s Surprising Future, Pearce argues that birth rates are falling all over the world and that total population is likely to decline after the next few decades. Pearce also contends that focusing on population can distract us from the real environmental threat – consumption. Listen to the podcast, then come join our online conversation with Pearce in our latest Science Forum.
Guest: Fred Pearce
Read Fred’s essay on population in Grist.
And here’s the rebuttal to Pearce’s arguments by Robert Walker of the Population Institute.
The U.N’s Population Division.
