60 minutes gives platform to terminally wrong 'anti-human' activist Paul Ehrlich

Jordan Peterson remarked on Twitter, 'Paul Ehrlich has been famously wrong about everything he has predicted for six decades.'

By Ian Miles Cheong
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January 03, 2023
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News Analysis

60 Minutes

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On Sunday night, CBS aired a segment on "60 Minutes" featuring Paul Ehrlich, a biologist and author of "The Population Bomb," warning about the threat of "mass extinction."

Speaking to journalist Scott Pelley, Ehrlich claimed that humanity is no longer sustainable as a species due to our high population and that the rate of extinction is extremely high and continues to rise. He argued that to maintain the current global lifestyle, five more Earths would be needed, and it is not clear where they would come from.

"The rate of extinction is extraordinarily high now and getting higher all the time," Ehrlich said.

"Humanity is not sustainable. To maintain our lifestyle (yours and mine, basically) for the entire planet, you'd need five more Earths. Not clear where they're gonna come from,” he added.

Ehrlich's 1968 book predicted widespread famine and the end of civilization within a decade, but his predictions did not come to pass. However, "60 Minutes" continued to present him as a reputable source.

Humans have taken over 70 percent of the planet’s land and freshwater. Biologist Paul Ehrlich told 60 Minutes our growing population and way of life are threatening biodiversity. https://t.co/r1X75U7LyX pic.twitter.com/LwZ7KbCJFg
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) January 2, 2023

Journalist Scott Pelley pointed out that while Ehrlich was wrong about widespread famine, he also wrote in 1968 that greenhouse gases would melt polar ice and humanity would overwhelm the planet.

Today, humans have taken over 70% of land and 70% of freshwater. Pelley also noted that Ehrlich's colleague, Tony Barnosky, stated that there is not a single scientist who would say "we're not in an extinction crisis.”

Ehrlich expressed his alarm about the lack of political action on the extinction crisis and stated that he and the majority of his colleagues believe that the next few decades will mark the end of the current civilization.

"I was alarmed. I am still alarmed. All of my colleagues are alarmed," Ehrlich said.

"I know there's no political will to do any of the things that I'm concerned with, which is exactly why I and the vast majority of my colleagues think we've had it; that the next few decades will be the end of the kind of civilization we're used to," Ehrlich said.

Ehrlich is not the only prominent voice to raise concerns about the potential impacts of human activity on the environment and biodiversity, however, few would make Ehrlich’s outlandish assertions that humanity is on the brink of extinction.

Many scientists and conservationists have warned about the dangers of overconsumption and the loss of biodiversity, and have called for greater efforts to protect and preserve the natural world.

It is also worth noting that Ehrlich's views are not universally accepted within the scientific community. Some experts have criticized his views as overly pessimistic and have argued that human ingenuity and technology can help to address the challenges humanity faces.

Ehrlich's comments and "60 Minutes" were widely ridiculed on Monday for continuing to promote incorrect predictions after several decades.

Journalist and author Michael Shellenberger slammed Ehrlich’s claims as “totally and utterly false” in a written response to the alarmist.

On CBS "60 Minutes" w/ @ScottPelley last night, @PaulREhrlich claimed a) humans are causing a "sixth mass extinction" & b) that it would require "five Earths" for all humans to enjoy a Western standard of living.

Both claims are totally & utterly false.https://t.co/xXslyyUxQ2
— Michael Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) January 2, 2023

Jordan Peterson remarked on Twitter, “Paul Ehrlich has been famously wrong about everything he has predicted for six decades.”

Energy expert Alex Epstein described Ehrlich as an “anti-human ecologist who has been 180° wrong for 55 years.”

Tesla CEO Elon Musk concurred, stating, “Ehrlich despises humanity. Nothing he says should be given the slightest credibility,” adding in a separate tweet that “His ‘Population Bomb’ book might be the most damaging anti-human thing ever written.”