The Paula Gordon Show

The Science of Survival with Dr. Edward O. Wilson

The real work of the 21st century, according to the great Harvard scientist Edward O. Wilson, is to settle humanity down before we wreck the planet. Dr. Wilson says the explosion of the human population promises 8 billion people living on earth within 40 years (as compared to 2 billion in 1900.) It's a vast bottleneck coinciding with a documented worldwide decline in arable land and water. And we people are pushing the rest of life off the face of the earth. But Wilson also offers both hope and plans for action.

While Dr. Wilson expects the 21st century will be a scary rush of accelerating change, if -- and this is a very big "if" -- if we address our challenges of natural resources, conservation, and human population, we have a chance for a quieter, more secure time for humans and other forms of life on the other side.

We need what we are destroying. Creepy-crawlies and weeds are the very foundation of life, the little things that run the earth, cycle and recycle nutrients, create the air and soil. And they do it for free. Without them, Wilson assures us the terrestrial ecosystems of the world would collapse within a year, making human life unsustainable. That's before taking into account the species we are driving to extinction provide us priceless resources for scientific information, new pharmaceuticals, and much more.

Besides, Wilson asks, who are we to destroy Creation, the product of 100s of millions of years of evolution?

Thank you Doctor Wilson!!!