Karen Shragg Revives Ehrlich’s Warning on Global Overpopulation

Shragg’s latest work, "Seeking Nature's Moral Compass," argues that the environmental crises of the 21st century—from biodiversity loss to severe water shortages—are inseparable from the societal obsession with perpetual economic expansion. She contends that the warnings issued by Ehrlich in his 1968 seminal work, The Population Bomb, have transitioned from theoretical fears to immediate, tangible threats. According to Shragg, the public has been stifled by political and cultural barriers that make honest dialogue about carrying capacity nearly impossible.

To bridge this gap, the paper proposes an "EarthWorks" curriculum, a comprehensive educational framework designed to teach sustainability and ecological literacy from preschool through college. Shragg points to a disconnect in the American public, noting that while 80% of citizens identify climate change as a major concern, most lack the foundational knowledge to understand its mechanisms or the role of population density. By integrating the study of ecosystems and resource limits into the classroom, Shragg hopes to shift the cultural narrative toward a sustainable balance, urging policymakers to confront the reality of an increasingly crowded planet before the biosphere faces irreversible collapse.