Paul R. Ehrlich

Paul Ralph Ehrlich (May 29, 1932 – March 13, 2026) was an American biologist, author, and environmentalist known for his predictions and warnings about the consequences of population growth, including famine and resource depletion. Ehrlich was the Bing Professor of Population Studies of the Department of Biology of Stanford University. He started working at Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve in 1959. He along with many other biology professors, led the efforts for Stanford University to designate and protect Jasper Ridge in 1973 officially as a biological preserve and as a long-term research facility for faculty and students. Ehrlich became well known for the controversial 1968 book The Population Bomb, which he co-authored with his wife Anne H. Ehrlich, in which they famously stated that "[i]n the 1970s hundreds of millions of people will starve to death in spite of any crash programs embarked upon now." This position has led historians and critics to describe Ehrlich as a neo-Malthusian.

There are mixed views on Ehrlich's assertions on the dangers of expanding human populations. While statistician Paul A. Murtaugh says that Ehrlich was largely correct, Ehrlich has been criticized for his approach and views, both for their pessimistic outlook and for the failure of his predictions. In 2004, Ehrlich had acknowledged that population growth was in decline, but had believed that overconsumption by wealthy nations was a major problem. Further, he had maintained that his warnings about disease and climate change were essentially correct. Journalist Dan Gardner criticized Ehrlich for his cognitive dissonance in forecasting, asserting that Ehrlich took credit for his successful predictions but failed to acknowledge his mistakes.