The Wizard and the Prophet: Two Groundbreaking Scientists and Their Conflicting Visions of the Future of Our Planet

by Charles C. Mann

If just ten fish remain in a pond, the solution to running out of fish is not more efficient nets.

Between 1960 and 2000 global synthetic fertilizer use rose by about 800 percent. About half of that production was devoted to just three crops: wheat, rice, and maize.

The Great Toilet Paper Panic of 1973 occurred after talk-show host Johnny Carson joked about a shortage, causing frightened consumers to buy out stores.

Realizing that solar had become essential to oil production, petroleum firms set up their own photovoltaic subsidiaries.

Despite their efforts, climate change attracted little public notice until June 23, 1988, when Hansen testified before the U.S. Senate. Worried about climate change, Colorado Democratic senator Tim Wirth had deliberately scheduled the hearing for what historically was the city summer’s hottest day. His scheme worked beyond his wildest dreams. Hansen sat down amid a wave of bad weather that covered the entire planet. Downpours inundated parts of Africa; unseasonable cold shriveled European harvests. Droughts scorched crops in the U.S. Midwest; forests were aflame across the West. That day Washington, D.C., experienced a record 101°F—an effect amplified when Wirth shut off the air-conditioning in the hearing room. Adding to the heat was the glare from television lights.

Environmental issues became ways for politicians to flag their clan identity to supporters—less statements about practical problems with solutions that people could debate than symbols of identity.