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John Harte

John Harte

Professor of Ecosystem Sciences, University of California, Berkeley

Appears in 1 story

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The bet that tested whether humanity is running out of everything

New Capabilities

Active in ecological research

In 1980, biologist Paul Ehrlich — who had warned that hundreds of millions would starve to death in the 1970s — agreed to put money behind his convictions. Economist Julian Simon challenged him to pick any five commodity metals: if their inflation-adjusted prices rose over the next decade, Ehrlich wins. If they fell, Simon wins. On October 11, 1990, Ehrlich mailed Simon a check for $576.07. Every single metal had gotten cheaper.

Updated 3 hours ago