Global Collapse

Paul R. Ehrlich is President of the Centre for Conservation Biology and professor of Population Studies at Stanford University in California.  He is an entomologist specializing in Lepidoptera (butterflies), but he is also a prominent ecologist and demographer. In 1968 Ehrlich co-wrote, with his wife Anne the controversial book ‘The Population Bomb’ in which he warned of the consequences of our exploding population and its toll on the earth. 

Dr Joe Smith is Senior Lecturer of Environment at the Open University and has a PhD in Geography from Cambridge University.  He is a Fellow of the Institute of British Geographers and teaches environmental communication, policy and politics at both undergraduate and Masters level.  Dr Smith’s research seeks to promote better understanding of - and action on- global environmental change issues. His research includes work on: public engagement and the media, the politics of consumption and contemporary environmental history.

The Grevy's Zebra (Equus grevyi) is the largest species of zebra, with stripes much narrower than that of the plains zebra.  Grevy’s were previously found in multiple countries across Africa but they are now restricted to only a small population in Ethiopia and a larger one in Kenya.  They are classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List, with the population seeing a decline of 85% in the last 50 years.  This decline is due to a range of issues including habitat loss from expanding villages and overgrazing, as well as frequent droughts and poaching.