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The Population Bomb

The Population Bomb
By Paul Erhlich
    The book The Population Bomb, Paul Erhlich describes the impending problem of human overpopulation. Eventhough this book was written in the 1960’s, Erhlich still brings up many points which are still valid in today’s society. Environmental science often is not thought of by the public or the government, let alone the problem of human overpopulation, so this book served as one of the first looks into the issue. Environmental activists are often shunned as being too leftist or straight out insane. By making many logistical arguments, Mr. Erhlich shows us that environmental problems aren’t so farfetched.
Erhlich speaks of several problems which are intertwined with the one of population. The first problem which Erhlich delves into, is that of the depleted food source. As the population grows larger, the food supply diminishes. He claims that there are 2 natural solutions to this problem; one being the death rate solution, and the other, the birth rate solution. The death rate solution would be the increase in the death rate and the birth rate solution would be a decrease in the birth rate, respectively. Erhlich also warns that the doubling times of populations are becoming more frequent and that exponential growth will start occurring, and from studies done on animal populations, we know that exponential growth leads to near extinction.
    Another problem Erhlich speaks of is the environmental erosion due to human exploitation. Humans also always turn to pesticides to take care of their problems, however they do not realize that what they are doing is slowly killing themselves and everything on the Earth, along with the pests the poison is intended for. As a cause of the overuse of pesticides, the agricultural worth of the farmland is also decreasing. Erhlich warns that pesticides only create resistant pests and aid in the formation of cancer. Some pesticides seem to have no apparent effects, but they actually are building up in the body, by being stored in the fatty tissue, such as DDT.
    Erhlich also speaks of the arising problems created by the use of monoculture for farming and of the simple ecosystems we are creating to make things easier for ourselves. By implementing monoculture, we are facilitating the destruction of the crops. Crops are more susceptible to disease and pests by not having any variety.
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