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« Back to What On Earth Is Going On? main page    Related Programs for: What On Earth Is Going On?Here are some previous Think Tank programs that may be of interest.How Should Humanity Prosper? (aired 4/27/2006) Stanford biologist Paul Ehrlich has been at the pessimistic forefront of the modern ecological movement for nearly four decades. His book, The Population Bomb, published in 1968, was an intellectual spark that contributed to the popular view that mankind was running out of control and that catastrophe was just around the corner. Many scientists have maintained that most of Ehrlich’s gloomy views were wrong. Needless to say, Ehrlich disagrees. Now he has a new book out co-authored with his wife Anne Ehrlich. It too takes a dark and alarmist view of the human condition. Edward O. Wilson and The Future of Life (aired 4/14/2005) Host Ben Wattenberg talks with one of the world’s most influential scientists, biologist Edward O. Wilson. Wilson is a professor at Harvard University and has written two Pulitzer Prize-winning books, On Human Nature and The Ants. In his most recent book, The Future of Life, Wilson makes the case for quick and decisive action to save the Earth’s environment and biological heritage. The Future of Energy (aired 1/20/2005) Affordable and plentiful energy has fueled America’s economic engine for more than a century. For most of this period, we have been able to rely on resources like oil and coal. But the possibility of worldwide depletion of fossil fuels, the threat of global climate change, and the advent of new fuels like hydrogen have led to a call for a new national energy policy. How can America strike a balance between our economy and our ecology? Fewer People, Part Two (aired 9/30/2004) We have all heard about the population explosion. Indeed, global population is still going up much more slowly than expected. But something is going on that is quite unexpected. In the last half century the number of children born per woman fell from 5 to 2.7. Now, it takes just 2.1 children to keep a population stable over time but the United Nations is now projecting that women will only bear 1.85 children per woman. That means fewer people in the future and not only in the modern western nations, but in the poor, less developed countries as well. What’s going on? What does it mean? To find out, Think Tank host Ben Wattenberg, author of the new book Fewer: How the New Demography of Depopulation Will Shape our Future, is joined by the men who head the agencies that gather and tend the data from which we make our judgments. Fewer People, Part One (aired 9/23/2004) We have all heard about the population explosion. Indeed, global population is still going up much more slowly than expected. But something is going on that is quite unexpected. In the last half century the number of children born per woman fell from 5 to 2.7. Now, it takes just 2.1 children to keep a population stable over time but the United Nations is now projecting that women will only bear 1.85 children per woman. That means fewer people in the future and not only in the modern western nations, but in the poor, less developed countries as well. What’s going on? What does it mean? To find out, Think Tank host Ben Wattenberg, author of the new book Fewer: How the New Demography of Depopulation Will Shape our Future, is joined by the men who head the agencies that gather and tend the data from which we make our judgments.  Think Tank is made possible by generous support from the Smith Richardson Foundation, the Bernard and Irene Schwartz Foundation, the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, the John M. Olin Foundation, the Donner Canadian Foundation, the Dodge Jones Foundation, and Pfizer, Inc. ©Copyright Think Tank. All rights reserved. 
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