Title: Arithmetic, Population and Energy – End of Growth
Produced by: Professor Albert Bartlett

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Professor Al Bartlett begins his one-hour talk with the statement, “The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function.”

He then gives a basic introduction to the arithmetic of steady growth, including an explanation of the concept of doubling time.  He explains the impact of unending steady growth on the population of Boulder, of Colorado, and of the world. He then examines the consequences steady growth in a finite environment and observes this growth as applied to fossil fuel consumption, the lifetimes of which  are much shorter than the optimistic figures most often quoted.

He proceeds to examine oddly reassuring statements from “experts”, the media and political leaders – statements that are dramatically inconsistent with the facts. He discusses the widespread worship of economic growth and population growth in western society. Professor Bartlett explains “sustainability” in the context of the First Law of Sustainability: