Paul Ehrlich, Bing Professor of Population Studies and president of the Center for Conservation Biology at Stanford University, will give the second Fred Keeley Lecture on Environmental Policy at the University of California, Santa Cruz, on Thursday, March 2. The talk, titled "One with Nineveh: Politics, Consumption, and the Human Future," will take place at 7:30 p.m. in the Media Theater on the UCSC campus. Admission is free and open to the general public.
Ehrlich has been a household name since the publication of his 1968 bestseller, The Population Bomb, which alerted the public to the problems of overpopulation. His most recent book is One with Nineveh. Coauthored with his wife, Anne Ehrlich, the book takes a fresh look at the global problems of overpopulation, overconsumption, and political and economic inequity. The Ehrlichs compare modern civilization to ancient Nineveh, capital of the Assyrian empire, where the unsustainable exploitation of natural resources led to a sudden collapse.
Ehrlich is an eminent biologist known for his long-term studies of the structure, dynamics, and genetics of natural butterfly populations. His research spans major issues in environmental science and its implications for society and policy. A central focus of his research group is on ways in which human-disturbed landscapes can be made more hospitable to biodiversity.
A member of the National Academy of Sciences, Ehrlich is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society. His many awards and honors include a MacArthur Prize Fellowship and the Crafoord Prize of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Kansas.
The Keeley Lecture on Environmental Policy honors former state Assemblyman Fred Keeley, who for many years has contributed to shaping environmental policy in California. The lecture is sponsored by the STEPS Institute for Innovation in Environmental Research, which fosters interdisciplinary research and policy efforts that address the rapid environmental changes affecting Earth's biodiversity, climates, and water systems.
For more information about the lecture, contact Abby Young at the STEPS Institute at (831) 459-1310 or abyoung@ucsc.edu.
