The infamous overpopulation bet: Simon vs. Ehrlich
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Soraya Field Fiorio |
TED-Ed
• August 2021
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. [Directed by Avi Ofer, narrated by Alexandra Panzer, music by Salil Bhayani and cAMP Studio].