Controlling World Population by Paul Ehrlich

(Full Story)

Once the American population size is comfortably under control, be it by voluntary or compulsory methods, the rest of the world needs to be "helped." Paul Ehrlich's 1968 The Population Bomb* described a variety of methods for controlling third world population growth and who should be involved in deciding the optimum population levels for the world.

"A general answer to the question, "What needs to be done?" can be given easily. We must rapidly bring the world population under control, reducing the growth rate to zero and eventually making it go negative. Conscious regulation of human numbers must he [sic] achieved. Simultaneously we must greatly increase our food production. This agricultural program should be carefully monitored to minimize deleterious effects on the environment and should include an effective program of ecosystem restoration. The world's supply of nonrenewable resources must be assessed and plans made for the most economical and beneficial management and use of what remains of them. As these projects are carried out, an international policy research program must be initiated to set optimum population-environment goals for the world and to devise methods for reaching these goals."