Arithmetic, Population and Energy - a talk by Al Bartlett

Professor Bartlett has given his celebrated one-hour lecture, "Arithmetic, Population and Energy: Sustainability 101" over 1,600 times to audiences with an average attendance of 80 in the United States and world-wide. His audiences have ranged from junior high school and college students to corporate executives and scientists, and to congressional staffs. He first gave the talk in September, 1969, and subsequently has presented it an average of once every 8.5 days for 36 years. His talk is based on his paper, "Forgotten Fundamentals of the Energy Crisis," originally published in the American Journal of Physics, and revised in the Journal of Geological Education.

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:

The talk brings the listener to understand and appreciate the implications of unending growth on a finite planet, and closes noting the crucial need for education topic.

See these articles about Prof. Bartlett's lecture:

• Professor talks at exponential rate
• CU's Al Bartlett To Give Renowned Talk On Exponential Growth Feb. 26

Order

You can order a DVD video of Prof. Bartlett's talk, "Arithmetic, Population and Energy", from:

The University of Colorado bookstore, Boulder, Colorado (order DVD: $12 plus shipping and handling). (Please call 1-800-255-9168 to order VHS copies.)

You can also order his book, The Eseential Exponential! (order book: $18 plus shipping and handling).

CU Bookstore, Campus Box 36, Boulder, Colorado, 80309-0036 Phone 303 492-7599.

You can also order from the University of Nebraska, Center for Science, Mathematics & Computer Education, Lincoln, Nebraska (order form). (Book and DVD: $30 plus shipping and handling).

(Prof. Bartlett accepts no royalties from the sales of these DVDs and books.)

Watch the video

You can watch a video of this important and engaging presentation in ten-minute segments (click here).