A retired University of Colorado at Boulder physics professor will talk about human population growth and its impact on the world's dwindling natural resources during an upcoming environmental summit.
CU-Boulder Professor Emeritus Albert A. Bartlett will give his popular presentation "Sustainability 101 and the Exponential Function," which explores the consequences of explosive worldwide population growth and unbridled consumption of nonrenewable resources.
His talk will take place at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 23, at the University Memorial Center during the Rocky Mountain Sustainability Summit, scheduled to unfold Feb. 22-23. Besides Bartlett, other featured speakers at the summit will include former Colorado Sen. Gary Hart, Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson and several higher-education leaders from Colorado, Arizona and Florida.
Bartlett, who retired in 1988, joined the CU-Boulder physics department faculty in 1950. Since 1969, he has given his talk on exponential growth 1,623 times. Among other topics, Bartlett's talk touches on the measurable, detrimental effects human overpopulation has had on the earth and its atmosphere, flora, fauna, soil, water and other natural resources.
"If any fraction of the observed global warming can be attributed to humans, this is positive proof that the human population has exceeded the carrying capacity of the earth," Bartlett said recently.
"From this it follows that, as a consequence of this, it is an inconvenient truth that all proposals and efforts at the local, national and global levels to slow global warming and achieve sustainability that do not advocate reducing populations to sustainable levels are what Mark Twain called 'silent lies.' "
In 2004, Bartlett's papers, "The Essential Exponential!: For the Future of Our Planet," were included in a book of scholarly reprints compiled by physicists at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.
The book and a DVD of Bartlett's celebrated presentation, "Sustainability 101: Arithmetic, Population and Energy," are available for purchase at the CU Book Store at . For more information, call (303) 492-7599 or e-mail tradebooks@cubookstore.com.
To read more about the Rocky Mountain Sustainability Summit at CU-Boulder and to see an event schedule and registration fees, visit ecenter.colorado.edu/rmss2007/.