Updated 25 March, 2004

Tribute to Garrett Hardin

by Wendel J. Johnson

Dr. Harding has been an inspiration to me thoroughout my academic career. As I left graduate school in the late 1960's, his writings galvanized my attention to the population problem. As others have said, he always made you think about difficult issues and choices. Perhaps the most lasting benefit of his productive career has been to stimulate teachers and students alike to discuss and ponder the influence of the human population on the environment. During these times of rampant political correctness, the role model Dr. Hardin presented by being politically uncorrect has been an inspiration to me. We will all miss him. But he has achieved during his lifetime what many hope to do and that is to influence humans to take action, in one manner or another, to make our society and the planet sustainable.

Wendel J. Johnson