About the book
A wager struck in 1980 between economist Julian Simon and biologist Paul Ehrlich over what five metals would cost in the future is the thread Paul Sabin follows through the American environmental debate. Ehrlich, author of The Population Bomb, expected growing populations to bring scarcity and famine, while Simon held that markets, technology and human ingenuity would leave people better off. Sabin weaves the two lives together with partisan fights over the environment and government, from the rise of environmentalism in the 1960s through the Carter and Reagan contest and into the 1990s. He argues that social values, not economic or biological absolutes, should guide choices about climate change and the planet.
Bill Gates included it among the best books he read in 2013, noting that Sabin treats both men fairly while showing how their extreme positions fed today's polarized fight over climate change.
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Bill Gates (CEO/Microsoft)
Sabin chronicles the public debate about whether the world is headed for an environmental catastrophe. He centers the story on Paul Ehrlich and Julian Simon, who wagered $1,000 on whether human welfare would improve or get worse over time. Without ridiculing either proponent, Sabin shows how their extreme views contributed to the polarized debate over climate change and other issues that continues today.
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