The following information comes from Albert Bartlett [Professor Emeritus, Physics Department, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO]. 

Albert Bartlett - Spekaing in his lecture entitled "Arithmetic,

 population and energy"

Albert A. Bartlett is an emeritus Professor of Physics at the University of Colorado at Boulder, USA. Professor Bartlett has lectured over 1,500 times on Arithmetic, Population, and Energy.

Professor Alberts calculations are second to none, his principle awareness and EDUCATION is aimed to point out that in any society, population growth cannot be sustained, and that the larger the population, the more difficult it will be for the society to achieve sustainability.

Professor Bartlett often explains how sustainable growth is an oxymoron. His view is based on the fact that a modest percentage growth can equate to huge escalations over short periods of time. He has famously stated that "The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function."

He regards overpopulation as "The Greatest Challenge" facing humanity, and promotes sustainable living. Bartlett opposes the cornucopian school of thought (as advocated by people such as Julian Lincoln Simon), and refers to it as The New Flat Earth Society.

J. B. Calvert (1999) has proposed that Bartlett's Law will result in the exhaustion of petrochemical resources due to the exponential growth of the world population (as per the Malthusian Growth Model).

Professor Alberts calculations and education is critically needed to make its way into the curriculum in order to help society manage population growth and to prepare for future energy demands.

Reflections on Sustainability, Population Growth, and the Environment - Revisited

Albert A. Bartlett

A revised version ( January 1998 ) of the paper that was first published in Population & Environment, Vol. 16, No. 1, September 1994, pp. 5-35.

Video Lectures Of The Series

The Most IMPORTANT Video You'll Ever See