Enviro Horror Stories: Before Global Warming, There Was The Population Bomb

DBKP ^ | April 25, 2008 | Mondoreb

[mondoreb]

A lot of similarities between the two most successful enviro-scares of the last forty years. Oh, and the person behind The Population Bomb?

That it was a leading environmentalist should surprise no one.

[PetroniusMaximus]

Don’t forget “RED TIDE!!!!”

[HangnJudge]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club_of_Rome

The Club of Rome raised considerable public attention with its report Limits to Growth, which has sold 30 million copies in more than 30 translations, making it the best selling environmental book in world history

Ahhh, yes, those were the days
We're all going to DIE

I read this book when I was in College
Exponential projections play havoc on logical thinking

[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

The (self-proclaimed) environmentalists are bringing about the food shortages predicted in The Population Bomb; through measures to “fight global warming”. Turning food into fuel is only the most glaringly obvious measures. What we think of as unintended consequences (i.e. soaring food prices, food riots, famines) might be the most important real objective of these twits. Their “Final Solution”.

[Free ThinkerNY]

Paul Ehrlich was the Al Gore of the 1960’s. Two arrogant, self-righteous BS artists.

[MAexile]

In the 1970s and 1980s hundreds of millions of people will starve to death in spite of any crash programs embarked upon now.

The irony of this is that millions are starving, because some of these same enviros decided it would be a good idea to turn our food into fuel.

[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

I also recall the awe in which the computer models, used to generate the “predictions” in Limits to Growth, were held. Most impressed were people who had no idea whatsoever of the Limits of Models. Same thing is happening again with the absolute faith Gorebots have in climate models.

[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

GMTA. I was still typing when you posted.

[steelyourfaith]

 

Beam me to Planet Gore !

[VegasCowboy]

Haven’t you heard? A real estate agent in NoCal couldn’t buy more than two 50 pound bags of rice at Costco. Ehrlich was too early. In 2009 WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE!

Funny how this alarmist rhetoric continues to scare the population. You’d think we’d begin to learn.

[the Original Dan Vik]

You can expect a visit from a Malthusian jack#ss named liberallarry to this thread very soon...he loves the politics of Overpopulationism.

[HangnJudge]

The current discussion on Global Warming has all the look and feel of the prior “Limits to Growth” hysteria. That is why it is a fitting model for our new fledgling minds to study, as they are inundated by GoreBot Mania

[neodad]

I’m almost ashamed to admit that in high school debate in the ‘80s, everyone quoted Erlich and his doomsday scenarios.

[mondoreb]

Wow, all good replies. This was the post that wouldn’t end...the more I added to it, the more additions that were needed. I compromised with an overview and a commitment to do a 3-parter on Enviro-Scares for the Memorial Day weekend...you know, to get everyone in the mood for summer!

[uncbob]

Well there is a Population Bomb like it or not

[steelyourfaith]

Great job!

[VegasCowboy]

You know, if their is a silver lining to this economic slowdown, its that perhaps the public will begin to realize that unbridled environmentalism is something we just can’t afford to allow to fester. Oil and food prices rising should wake America up to the fact that the environmental alarmists should be ignored and scorned as the gangerous kooks they are.

“Being Green” is something that people only care about if they aren’t worried about how to put food on the table. In other words, it is a luxury of a fat and happy society.

[razorback-bert]

“The End of Affluence”, Ehrlich stated, “One general prediction can be made with confidence: the cost of feeding yourself and your family will continue to increase. There may be minor fluctuations in food prices, but the overall trend will be up”. According to Ehrlich, the United States would see its life expectancy drop to 42 years by 1980 because of pesticide usage, and the nation’s population would drop to 22.6 million by 1999.

And there was the AIDS scare in the 1980's .

[VegasCowboy]

There is? Should I mark doomsday on my calendar? If so, when?

[HangnJudge]

And a lovely link to the 30th anniversary version of Limits to Growth

http://www.sustainer.org/pubs/limitstogrowth.pdf

With all the Attendant Graphs and Projections