Geography 2153A/B Chapter Notes - Chapter 3: Coase Theorem, Sulfur Dioxide, Anthropocentrism
28 Jun 2016
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During this time paul ehrlich was the most prominent spokespersons for the population crisis and was typically identified as the paramount and persuasive neo-malthusian of the time. In 1980 ehrlich was challenged by julian simon (who was largely unassociated with environmentalism) Simon maintained that human population growth improved living conditions and environmental quality because a) more people means more good ideas and b) more demand for things produces incentives to find, make and creatively maintain the world (cid:0) Things get progressively better, not worse, with every birth. Wager was based on whether the prices of five metals selected by ehrlich and his associates; chrome, copper, nickel, tin and tungsten- would rise or fall in value over the next decade. If simon was right the scarcity of these goods would decline, owing to increasing human ingenuity and economic growth. If ehrlich was right the prices should rise considerably.
