Hardin, Garrett

Hardin, Garrett (James) (1915–  ) ecologist, educator; born in Dallas, Texas. Educated at the University of Chicago and Stanford (Ph.D. 1941), he joined the faculty of the University of California: Santa Barbara in 1946 and became an emeritus professor there in 1978. Originally a plant biologist, he became increasingly interested in genetics, evolution, and the problems of pollution and population growth. In such books as Nature and Man's Fate (1959) and Exploring New Ethics for Survival (1977) he argued that disease, starvation, and social disorder will result unless human population growth is curbed. He campaigned for legalized abortion during the 1960s and was president of the Environmental Fund in 1980–81.