Twitter CEO Elon Musk recently slammed biologist Paul Ehrlich, claiming the scientist should have no credibility whatsoever.
Ehrlich for decades has predicted varying doomsday scenarios for the world, all of which have never come true. He recently appeared on “60 Minutes” for an interview in which he claimed, “The next few decades will be the end of the kind of civilization we’re used to.”
The Twitter account for “60 Minutes” quoted the scientist and also stated, “Humanity is consuming 175 percent of what the earth can regenerate. Biologist Paul Ehrlich says that our current way of life is unsustainable.”
“The next few decades will be the end of the kind of civilization we’re used to.”
Humanity is consuming 175 percent of what the earth can regenerate. Biologist Paul Erlich says that our current way of life is unsustainable. https://t.co/AwaKLZFGsj pic.twitter.com/MU1jHpuMwI
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) January 2, 2023
Philosopher and self-described energy expert, Alex Epstein stated, “Why is @60Minutes featuring Paul Ehrlich, the anti-human ecologist who has been 180° wrong for 55 years??!! “humanity is not sustainable. To maintain our lifestyle (yours and mine, basically) for the entire planet, you’d need 5 more Earths.” More on Ehrlich’s catastrophizing.”
Why is @60Minutes featuring Paul Ehrlich, the anti-human ecologist who has been 180° wrong for 55 years??!!
“humanity is not sustainable. To maintain our lifestyle (yours and mine, basically) for the entire planet, you'd need 5 more Earths.”
More on Ehrlich’s catastrophizing
👇 pic.twitter.com/q6daPn8LGJ— Alex Epstein (@AlexEpstein) January 2, 2023
Elon Musk responded to Epstein’s tweet with his own critique,“Ehrlich despises humanity. Nothing he says should be given the slightest credibility.”
Ehrlich despises humanity. Nothing he says should be given the slightest credibility.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 2, 2023
“The rate of extinction is extraordinarily high now and getting higher all the time,” 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 daces will be the end of the kind of civilization we’re used to.”
Ehrlich was first known for his 1968 book “The Population Bomb” which predicted widespread famine brought about by overpopulation that would end civilization as we know it. His predictions led to a false sense of alarmism which led some nations to adopt forced sterilization measures and other means of population control. China, for example, adopted a one-child policy for decades.
“The alarm Ehrlich sounded in ’68 warned that overpopulation would trigger widespread famine. He was wrong about that. The green revolution fed the world. But he also wrote in ’68 that heat from greenhouse gases would melt polar ice and humanity would overwhelm the wild. Today, humans have taken over 70% of the planet’s land and 70% of the freshwater,” 60 Minutes journalist Scott Pelley said.
CBS and “60 Minutes” have been heavily criticized for their featuring of the discredited scientist. Club for Growth senior analyst Andrew Follett wrote, “’Biologist’ Paul Erlich has been consistently wrong about every prediction he has ever made…And yet media outlets keep having him on…”
Media strategist Gabriella Hoffman stated, “Preservationist environmentalism like this poses a grave threat to people and nature. This thinking undergirds most climate alarmism too. Giving credence to Paul Erlich should instill doubt in one’s credibility.”
“90 years old and still crazy (60 Minutes spelled his last name incorrectly, of course, their usual attention to detail). Ehrlich said humanity was done in the 1970s. We were not done. We will not be done anytime soon, either,” Washington Examiner writer Nathan Wurtzel said in a tweet.
Paul Ehrlich’s predictions have been consistently wrong, so it is confusing why CBS thought it would be a good idea to feature the biologist’s newest doomsday forecast in the 60 Minutes segment.
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