On the interrelated topics of energy, pollution, throughput and limits to growth, today’s guest needs no introduction. Dennis Meadows, a former systems analyst from MIT, led the Club of Rome’s ‘Limits to Growth’(LTG) project 50 years ago this month.
The landmark LTG study was much dismissed (and misunderstood) in the intervening years. Dennis and I discuss the status of and implications of the research, what the team might have done differently knowing what he knows now, what policymakers can still do today to avoid the worst outcomes, and how he copes with carrying the burden of this information for a lifetime.
On The Great Simplification I plan to highlight many people active in the ongoing cultural transition in areas such as: regenerative agriculture, community building, new education models, environmental ethics, alternative economic models, governance, etc. But I think it’s important to first highlight the many aspects of societies ‘infrastructure’ – the energy, materials, and throughput systems that support – and grow – modern civilization. We have to know how we got here and which paths remain open if we are to choose (and prepare, and go forward) wisely.