Anne Ehrlich
Anne and her husband, Paul, who co-authored The Population Explosion
PMC: What do you think are the biggest challenges the world faces today and why?
Anne Ehrlich: The biggest problems facing civilization today, in no particular order, are: human population growth; overconsumption, waste, and mismanagement of resources; damage and destruction of natural capital and loss of biodiversity; and emission of greenhouse gases, causing climate disruption.
PMC: What did the “Population Issue” look like in the 60s and 70s?
AE: There was a lot of interest in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s, following publication of The Population Bomb and the report of the US Population Commission in 1970. Then the US fertility dropped significantly in 1972-73 to below replacement level, and much of the public thought the problem was “solved.” Fertility also fell significantly during the 1970s and 1980s in most developed countries and began to fall in some developing countries (notably China). Recurring United Nations conferences on Population brought global attention to the issue, but not very much increased support for assistance to developing countries.
PMC: Has the political discussion regarding population changed over the past 30 years?
AE: Changes in United States administrations caused wide swings in international support for family planning programs in developing nations, with Republican administrations withdrawing support, using the abortion issue as justification, and Democratic ones restoring the funds. Pressure from religious organizations and other groups at the international level has also resulted in an expanded mission for population programs to include maternal and child health, girls’ education, etc., but without any significant increase in funds, thus diluting the family planning effort. And feminist groups have been advocating family planning to allow women to “have as many children as they want,” with no suggestion that fewer might be better for them, their families, and their community. Fortunately, a resurgent interest in population has recently emerged, along with some concern about the prospect of more than 2 billion people being added globally in the next 40 years. It’s not clear to me why this is happening, but growing awareness that global heating is threatening food production may be a factor, as well as increasing shortages of water supplies in many regions.
PMC: Are the students who come into Stanford’s biology programs concerned with biodiversity loss in relation to human population?
AE: One can say with some confidence that all biology students in evolution and ecology are concerned about loss of biodiversity and clearly aware of the relationship to the size and growth of the human population. Students in other branches of biology are less aware in general. Most biology faculty members and their textbooks make the relationship explicit. Biology students aren’t the problem — it’s the general public and students who don’t happen to take relevant courses.
PMC: How can we ensure people connect environmental conservation with population stabilization?
AE: I think that what’s needed are two things: a broadening of teaching about ecology and population in lower grades, thus reaching many more students; and an improvement of adult education through the media. Many television nature shows do a good to excellent job of informing about the connections, but media news and information features need to be improved in quality and extent on these and the other basically “environmental” topics. Too much today is episodic, with problems discussed (if at all) in isolation, unrelated to others. There’s no depth, no big picture — just bits and pieces.
PMC: Why do you think that Population Media Center’s work is important?
AE: I think Population Media Center’s work is important because reducing fertility rates worldwide is essential for helping to create a viable future for humankind, and because its approach has proven to be effective. I joined the advisory board because I was invited to do so, and I hope I can make a contribution.
