The Stanford University biologist and environmentalist was one of the most influential and controversial voices in environmental science: a leading scientist in the field of ecology, who warned about population pressure on natural systems many years before the climate crisis became a global focus.
Paul Ralph Ehrlich, professor emeritus of biology and population studies at Stanford University, died on March 13, 2026, at the age of 93. Stanford announced his death, describing him as an evolutionary biologist, a researcher of populations and their environments, and one of the most prominent public voices in the debate on population, hunger, the environment, and conservation. Ehrlich had taught at Stanford since 1959, while also establishing a worldwide reputation as a researcher of butterflies, population ecology, and species interactions.
He is best known to the general public for his book “The Population Bomb”, which he published in 1968 with his wife Anne Ehrlich. The book became a global bestseller and warned of the dire consequences of rapid population growth, including hunger, resource scarcity, and a widespread environmental crisis. In doing so, Ehrlich became one of the figures most identified with the modern environmental movement of the late 1960s and 1970s.
However, Ehrlich was not just the author of a famous cautionary tale. In the scientific world, he is considered a researcher who made a real contribution to evolutionary ecology. In his obituary, Nature He was noted as one of the founders of the field of coevolution, and his research on plant-insect interactions, population dynamics, and the conservation of biodiversity was also highlighted. In this sense, his legacy is not limited to the public polemics surrounding population growth, but also includes a broad and ongoing scientific achievement.
The controversy surrounding his name stemmed from the fact that some of his most dire predictions did not materialize on the dates he set. His book has been associated over the years with predictions of mass starvation, increasing resource shortages, and a rapidly worsening environmental crisis, but the historical reality was more complex: food production increased greatly, global mortality rates fell, and humanity managed to postpone some of the crises he predicted. For this reason, his critics saw it as a striking example of the dangers of overly harsh apocalyptic predictions. (Nature)
Alongside the grim predictions that did not materialize on the dates he set, some argue that Ehrlich was not “disproven” but rather anticipated a mechanism of cumulative human pressure on natural systems. The population explosion was partially halted by a decline in the birth rate, the Green Revolution, and technological improvements, but his broad warning—that humanity could push Earth’s systems to dangerous limits—sounds especially familiar today in light of the climate crisis and the growing discussion of tipping points of no return within the human lifespan. The UN’s latest population forecast indicates a significant slowdown in the rate of global growth and a high probability of a population peak in the mid-2080s, while the IPCC emphasizes that climate change that has already occurred entails increasing risks, including irreversible changes in natural and human systems. (population.un.org)
Ehrlich's legacy will therefore likely remain twofold. On the one hand, an important scientist who warned early about environmental limits and human pressure on ecosystems. On the other, a controversial public figure whose warning style was sharp and sometimes too extreme. Even after his death, the debate surrounding him is not just about predictions that came true or did not come true, but about the broader question of how scientists should warn about long-term dangers—and when a stark warning is a public responsibility, and when it becomes overkill. (humsci.stanford.edu)
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So my name is Nir Ohayon, 30 years old, currently living in Kfar Kish, my parents are wheelchair users with no limitations in their hands and mouth. I went through severe discrimination in the world of theater and dubbing in Shaurya and for no reason at all. I took two dubbing courses and two theater classes and a puppet theater workshop. In my opinion, a red line was crossed that harms the disabled and those with disabilities. I believe and want to go through affirmative action precisely because of these things that I went through for nothing without really knowing the person. In continuation of what I sent, despite a muscular dystrophy disease that caused me to now move around in a wheelchair, I draw anime drawings (attaching a photo as an example) and edit content for videos accompanied by poetry. In addition, I took two dubbing courses, two years of theater, and a puppet theater workshop. Overall, I am asking for an opportunity to integrate into the entertainment and film industry.
These days I'm looking to integrate with healthy people to feel like a living person. Until now, they've tried to integrate me with people with disabilities, but it didn't work because I felt like it didn't suit my needs, and that I didn't belong.
I would be happy if you would lend me a hand and give me an opportunity to help myself polish my abilities.
May an opportunity with you give expression to who I truly am and allow my light to shine, thus overcoming the pain I have experienced due to discrimination against people with disabilities in this field.
And as Amir Dadon says in his poem, "A great light illuminates everything... because in the end when it's over"... I have nothing... and "Starting everything from scratch is like breathing for the first time, I'm here, I'm not wasting any more, illuminating everything..."
Looking forward to hearing back,
Best regards,
Nir is absolutely right. Israel has an extensive system of laws that prohibit discrimination, mainly in the areas of public services, places of entertainment, and employment, based on religion, race, gender, sexual orientation, age, country of origin, views, parentage, or personal status.
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Main anti-discrimination laws:
Law Prohibiting Discrimination in Products, Services, and Entrance to Entertainment and Public Places, 5761-2000: Prohibits owners of businesses and public places (restaurants, shops, clubs) from discriminating against customers.
Equal Employment Opportunity Law, 1988: Prohibits employers from discriminating against employees or job seekers in hiring, working conditions, promotion, or dismissal.
The Equal Rights for People with Disabilities Law, 1990: Prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities and requires accommodations. Discrimination is prohibited by law, period. But in these matters, the law was established from 1998 to 2000 and states that no one should be discriminated against, regardless of race or gender. The Equal Rights for People with Disabilities and Special Needs Law is a shame that it continues to be read. I turned to directors, producers, and content editors of various kinds and what to do about it. It's like talking to a wall in my life. Maybe Teddy Productions will show some compassion and love towards people with disabilities and special needs, too, because I'm tired of absorbing this all my life. I'm already 30 years old. Nir Ohayon, the Cosmos puppet operator and the amazing painter, moves around in a chair powered by a motor without restriction in his hands and mouth. I also edit crazy content, movies, series, dubbing, singing in an extraordinary way, and all my content is only from home, thanks to the dubbing studios that made me not feel like a human being and I passed. Hell at the damned former Elrom Dubbing Studios, which thank God they closed down. They played with my emotions and did to me and it's worse. Who is discrimination? It's mental injury. And I haven't received an apology to this day since 2018 2019. And some of those directors said that there is no such thing as discrimination in the world of theater and dubbing and that the stages are not supposed to be accessible to the disabled and people with disabilities. And that's not an apology. It's arrogance. And it's disgusting and repulsive to me. And it's definitely against the values and morals that I grew up with. Maybe you can help me. I don't have the strength to deal with it alone anymore. And in addition, I also move around in a wheelchair without a limit on my hands and mouth. I don't have the mental strength for it anymore. I've already given up because of those directors and producers and everyone is constantly trying to silence me. It's better not to mention the discrimination issue and shamelessly write that my posts are like poison and they should block me or disconnect my phone in my face. Enough. I can't take it anymore. It's too much for me. I tried to do it. I turned all social networks upside down. It's better to find a director, but everyone. Shit, they're not ready. I turned to their hearts. They probably have hearts of stone. They're really closed. They just missed out on a special person like me. They made me go through discrimination for nothing and nothing and more for nothing. You must have a possibility. There's no such thing. No. Teddy must have connections in the entertainment, film, television, and Israeli dubbing industries. I also turned to the Yes Hot Guy Pines corporation. I also tried to call and inquire about auditions. Even though I have an amazing voice, I can do great things even without auditions. Even though now all the content I edit is all from home, but that doesn't say anything about my ability. Give me a chance that I never got. They saw something broken in me or something. Maybe in my voice. I know that's not true. This thing has simply caused harm and destruction in my life. I really don't want to beg, but what about you? I have a question for a moment. If you had children and they, God forbid, were to go through severe discrimination in the world of theater and dubbing. I'm sure you wouldn't sit quietly. You would be moved. Shit. So you need to understand me. All the production people and content creators like Pajamas and many more series and movies. Well, And then what if I move around in a wheelchair without any restrictions on my hands and mouth, for God's sake, this is the last thing that should interfere? The opposite is true. And discrimination is also prohibited by law in all places since 1998 and until 2000. So it is possible to tweet about the law and also to receive congresses. And I don't come from anywhere that threatens these people. I am discouraged from life and I have lost the light at the end of the tunnel. I only see complete darkness because I didn't turn on my nightlight. And yes, I am also a very, very funny person in an unusual way, to the point where people fall out of their chairs. It's worth it. And I am not a shy person and with self-confidence. I simply haven't found good people in the entertainment world.
In short, are you suggesting that anyone who challenges the garbage collectors should commit suicide and let them continue to pollute and heat?
If he really believed this, he wouldn't have had children, and committed suicide the moment he thought that, because what is your life more important than the lives of others, and why live if you believe that life is a disaster for the climate, and still live to be 93, how much pollution he indirectly caused in his old age.
First and foremost, he was a scientist who did measurable research. But he also wanted to explain the cumulative implications of what he saw.
Unlike the Messiah, there are many things that can be measured and trends that can be projected. Let's take the population explosion as an example, the rate of population growth in the 1970s was not unsustainable. Rather, things that are not directly related, such as improved health care in Europe, the economic prosperity of China, increased female education, the rise in the age of marriage, and more, all led to a decline in the birth rate even in the most remote tribes.
But there are many of his predictions that have come true, for example the decline in biodiversity with the sixth mass extinction comparable to that of the dinosaurs, only with a different nature of species. Without diversity, forests will become deserts, there will be no one to maintain the deserts, and more. And it's not just a few species (thousands of species of insects that serve as pollinators, fish that disappeared as a result of the invasion of species brought by humans to the water source, and of course plants). Each species has its own ecological role and without them the services that nature provides us are dwindling.
And of course, to all this we must add the climate crisis, which is accelerating all the processes I mentioned, making areas uninhabitable, causing coastal areas to flood, and accelerating the cycle of natural disasters. Already today we are seeing an increase in the number of strong storms and forest fires, compared to earthquakes that are independent of the climate crisis, the rate of which is estimated to be constant, so that it is also possible to notice the human impact. The problem is that this impact is not limited to other species in nature. Ultimately, it will cause the collapse of humanity itself.
How can you call someone a scientist if all of their predictions didn't come true?
I can argue that the predictions that the Messiah would come simply haven't come true yet, does that make me a scientist?
Sounds more like a propagandist who also dealt in science.