The infamous overpopulation bet: Simon vs. Ehrlich - Soraya Field Fiorio
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Let’s Begin…
In 1980, Paul Ehrlich and Julian Simon bet $1,000 on a question with stakes that couldn’t be higher: would the earth run out of resources to sustain a growing human population? They bet $200 on the price of five metals. If the price of a metal decreased or held steady over the next decade, Simon won. If the price increased, Ehrlich won. So, what happened? Soraya Field Fiorio investigates.
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Additional Resources for you to Explore
NPR’s “A Bet, Five Metals, and the Future of the Planet”
New York Times Opinion piece by Paul Sabin in the Sunday Review, “Betting on the Apocalypse”
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Meet The Creators
- Educator
- Soraya Field Fiorio
- Director
- Avi Ofer
- Narrator
- Alexandra Panzer
- Music
- Salil Bhayani, cAMP Studio
- Sound Designer
- Nirana Singh, cAMP Studio
