[3][4][5], The book has been criticized since its publishing for its alarmist tone, and in recent decades for its inaccurate predictions. has also sharply declined in industrialized countries. [31][32] In The Ultimate Resource Simon argued that resources, such as metals, which Ehrlichs extensively discuss in their books as examples of non-sustainable resources, are valued exclusively for the function their provide, and technological progress frequently replaces these: for example, copper was largely replaced by fiber optic in communications, and carbon fiber replaced a wide range of alloys and steel in construction (see Simon-Ehrlich wager and The Ultimate Resource). My view has become depressingly mainline! Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. In fact, the number of people in every country listed by Gunter has risen dramatically since 1970. However, since India became a democracy, there have been no recorded famines. The Population Bomb is a best-selling book written by Stanford University Professor Paul R. Ehrlich and his wife, Anne Ehrlich (who was uncredited), in 1968. @WE_Williams One frequent criticism of The Population Bomb is that it focused on spectacle and exaggeration at the expense of accuracy. "[6] This view was widely held at the time, as another statement of his, later in the book: "I have yet to meet anyone familiar with the situation who thinks that India will be self-sufficient in food by 1971." By the year 2000, or conceivably sooner, South and Central America will exist under famine conditions,” Peter Gunter, a professor at North Texas State University, said in a 1970 issue of The Living Wilderness.”By the year 2000, thirty years from now, the entire world, with the exception of Western Europe, North America, and Australia, will be in famine.”. Also in 1970, Paul Ehrlich, a Stanford University biologist and best-selling author of “The Population Bomb,” declared that the world’s population would soon outstrip food supplies. In another retrospective article published in 2009, Ehrlich said, in response to criticism that many of his predictions had not come to pass:[2], the biggest tactical error in The Bomb was the use of scenarios, stories designed to help one think about the future. Ehrlich has consistently failed to revise his predictions when confronted with the fact that they did not occur, stating in 2009 that “perhaps the most serious flaw in The Bomb was that it was much too optimistic about the future.”, 4: “Demographers Agree Almost Unanimously … Thirty Years From Now, The Entire World … Will Be In Famine”. Ehrlich argues that as the existing population was not being fed adequately, and as it was growing rapidly, it was unreasonable to expect sufficient improvements in food production to feed everyone. In 1949, the secretary of the interior said the end of U.S. oil supplies was in sight. The Parallels Between Soviet Bloc and Modern US, America Locked in Cold War With China, Former Navy Secretary Says, Problematic Women: How Rep. Debbie Lesko Is Fighting for the Rights of All Women, This Group’s Mission Is to Raise Next Generation of American Patriots, Deep policy understanding from over 100 experts. Basically, he was right across the board. In the book's 1971 edition, the latter prediction was removed, as the food situation in India suddenly improved (see Green Revolution in India).