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Program for the Human Environment

Area of Research: Forests, Farms and Materials

How Much Land Can Ten Billion People Spare for Nature?

The Potato and the Prius

How Much Will Feeding More and Wealthier People Encroach on Forests?

The Shrinking Footprint of American Meat

Materialization and Dematerialization: Measures and Trends

National Material Metrics for Industrial Ecology

National Materials Flows and the Environment

Worthless Nature

December 21, 2018July 30, 2019

Thanks to Marian Tupy for republishing Jesse Ausubel’s short essay, We Must Make Nature Worthless, in Human Progress.

Posted in News, Forests, Farms and Materials, Technology & Human Environment

Peak stuff?

October 5, 2018July 30, 2019

Fred Pearce writes about our exploration of whether humanity is nearing peak use of stuff in this article in Anthropocene magazine: Are We Approaching Peak Stuff? Almost imperceptibly, we are stepping off the consumption treadmill

Posted in News, Forests, Farms and Materials, Technology & Human Environment

Potato and Prius

April 3, 2018September 27, 2022

We post ‘The Potato and the Prius,’ the January 2018 keynote address by Jesse Ausubel to the Potato Business Summit of the United Potato Growers of America.

Posted in News, Talks and Podcasts, Forests, Farms and Materials

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All What's New Publications

What’s New

  • More on Jesse’s good 1995 decarbonization projection September 8, 2026
  • RealClear Defense publishes Jesse’s recollections on “The Questions of Andy Marshall” June 30, 2026
  • Jesse spoke at Oceans and Human Health forum June 30, 2026
  • Jesse in short video interview on energy May 29, 2026
  • Scenario bias started at the outset of the IPCC May 27, 2026
  • Accurate, informative coverage of new Stoeckle-Ausubel paper on eDNA of New York’s East River May 3, 2026
  • Jesse video interview on enduring environmental realities May 3, 2026
  • East River DNA reveals fish, urban wildlife, and what New Yorkers eat April 29, 2026

See all


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