Good environmental news in the NY Times. Demographers now predict that world population may never exceed 10B people. Birth rates are going down. Meanwhile, whale protection has resulted in millions of whales, and whales not consume more food than all the 6.2B people who now live on Earth. Life is getting safer, and huge amounts of money are being spent to reduce some very improbably risks.

Andy writes:

Roger's discussion acts like this is news.

In the early 1970s conservatives declared the population bomb theory a fraud, but it has been taught for over 30 years in schools. Liberals love the theory because it supports their views about abortion and world government. So it was taught and taught. And its teaching helped raise a generation of academic liberals.

Of course, the NY Times doesn't hold liberal scientists accountable for teaching falsehoods in school for 30+ years.

Gumma writes:

Don't you remember the night Anne came home from Mary Institute and said that Erlich's "Population Bomb" was her science book? Dad had one of his favorite tantrums. That must have been about 1970.

I think that was Liza, not Anne. The news is that population experts have revised their estimates of the Earth's population from 12B to 10B people. Erlich was debunked about 20 years ago, as he was looking at shorter term predictions.