Rockefeller and Columbia Universities
Population biologist and the head of the Laboratory of Populations at Rockefeller University and Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Columbia University; author of How Many People Can the Earth Support?
Can Planet Earth Handle Seven Billion People? The United Nations says the world's population will reach seven billion sometime today, although the US Census Bureau says it'll happen sometime in March. Regardless of the date, there are some reasons for optimism as well as predictions of doom and gloom. We hear some of both -- from the US, China, India and sub-Saharan Africa.
Can Planet Earth Handle Seven Billion People? Although the US Census Bureau says it'll happen sometime in March, the United Nations says the world's population will reach seven billion sometime today, creating new challenges for generations to come. The rate of human growth is finally slowing down, and Earth's resources are sufficient for three billion more, depending on technology and distribution. But will all those people be able to urbanize and increase their consumption and waste without creating famine, poverty and an unhealthy environment? We look at what might be in store for the United States, developing countries including China and India and the fastest-growing part of the world, sub-Saharan Africa.
What happens when America retreats from the world? Is President Trump taking his "America First" agenda to extremes, withdrawing the country from the international stage on trade and climate change, distancing America from its traditional allies across the Atlantic and even threatening to physically isolate the country through the building of a wall along its southern border? León Krauze guest hosts.
President Trump: US to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord Trump says he was elected to serve Pittsburgh, not Paris.
Will the Senate write a healthcare bill in secret? While Democrats and Republicans argue White House relations with Russia, another question is being decided behind closed doors: who gets help buying health insurance and who doesn't? We hear how the pros and cons are being shrouded in secrecy.
Janesville and the American Dream Janesville, Wisconsin is the hometown of Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan. But he couldn’t prevent the closing of the General Motors factory after 100 years. On this Memorial Day rebroadcast of To the Point, we hear what’s happened to what once was a model of American middle-class unity.