The infamous overpopulation bet: Simon vs. Ehrlich - Soraya Field Fiorio
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TEDEd Animation
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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.
The biologist Paul Ehrlich predicted that the growing human population would lead to starvation, political unrest, and climate change. How did he relate these factors?
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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
- Director of Production Gerta Xhelo
- Editorial Director Alex Rosenthal
- Producer Bethany Cutmore-Scott
- Editorial Producer Elizabeth Cox
- Fact-Checker Charles Wallace
