Have you ever thought about growth having negative effects on the future of this planet? Have you ever considered economic growth, population increase, and material consumption to be detrimental to the earth? Much of society today is built on the mindset of growth; we produce more, we consume more, and the cycle continues. Unfortunately, we are at a point in time where our growth is not sustainable with what our earth can provide. According to a scientist from the report Limits to Growth, humans have over-shot, over-consumed, over-produced, and the earth is taking the lead to stop it.
Back in 1972, a book was released called Limits to Growth written by Donella Meadows, Dennis Meadows, Jorgen Randers, and William Behrens III. It was a report that analyzed global trends in resource use. Essentially, the study concluded three main ideas:
1) Humans societies are promoting exponential growth in population increase and material consumption.
2) The earth is finite, there are limits to what it can provide (i.e. natural resources, water, land)
3) This growth will be stopped no matter what. Either through human control or through global pressures.
The first two ideas are relatively straight-forward, so let's dive in to the third idea that growth will be stopped no matter what and examine that a bit further.
"Globally we are very far above sustainable levels and we're starting now to see the symptoms of those problems that will stop growth. ...We are starting to see signs that the earth is stopping it." - Dr. Dennis Meadows, 2017
It has now been 46 years since the release of Limits to Growth which aimed to predict the future and alarm policy-makers to transition toward sustainability. Now, in recent interviews, Dr. Dennis Meadows concludes that humans did not take the necessary actions to make change, stop growth, and transition toward a sustainable future, so the earth has taken over and is providing pressures, or how Dr. Meadows refers to them, "symptoms".
Examples of 'symptoms' aimed at reducing growth
Climate change
Natural resource depletion
Water depletion
Soil erosion
Humans have an issue with identifying the true problem; climate change is not the problem, economic downfalls are not the problem, it's growth on a finite planet.
We are now starting to see pressures build across the globe: we have major droughts, unpredictable storms, and less arable land. As societies, we cannot assume that these "symptoms" are going to go away. Even if we deal with one, the pressures will continue. We have to start viewing these "symptoms" not as individual problems; they are signs of the major problem that the earth is facing today, which is growth on a finite planet. According to Dr. Meadows, growth stops when negative pressures equal the positive pressures, and, at this point in time, we are nowhere near that balance.
So now what? It sounds to me like that humans are in for a rough number of decades as the earth tries to set back a balance. We are going to witness collapse and we are going to see societies struggle. In my opinion, the only option humans have is to try and work together with the planet to help restore this balance. This involves a change in social behaviour and culture. By that I mean, policy-makers need to think less about simple problems with immediate rewards (i.e. pipelines to increase the economy) and more about hard problems that don't have immediate rewards (i.e. transitions to renewable energy). On top of that, balancing the planet will involve a shift in social and cultural behaviour. Human need to live simpler lives with less material consumption: smaller homes, smaller families, shared resources, and realistic limitations and boundaries that we can live by so we can continue to evolve on this planet.
Still skeptical? Test for yourself.
So after all of this you might still be on the fence, maybe confused, or perhaps curious to know more. Maybe you don't think we are driven by growth? Maybe you don't think much has changed in regards to natural resources? Maybe you believe you don't over consume? Take 5 minutes today to reflect on some key concepts.
Identify a political decision that has affected where you live and that was put into action with an economic growth mindset.
Identify a recent large storm and how that has affected those societies (health, economy, stability, etc.).
Identify a natural resource you use and how it has increased in cost.
Name 7 items that you own that you really don't need.
Resources
Volkswagen Stifung, 2014/03/10 Interview with Dennis Meadows on “Limits to Growth” retrived from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYNlhjOZ7DU
Volkswagen Stifung 2016/07/14 The Origin of “ Limits to Growth”- Interview with Dennis Meadows retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7Z6h-U4CmI&t=28s
We Love Earth 2017/09/01 Dennis Meadows Interview p1/4 (The limits to growth, climate change, population growth) retrieved by https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7lmh5XVRW0&t=109s
Martin Mulligan (2018) An Introduction to Sustainability -Environmental, Social and Personal Perspectives Abingdon Oxon Routledge Publications
Robertson, Margaret (2014) A Brief History of Sustainability. In Sustainability: Principles and Practices. New York ,NY Routledge.
Donelle H. Meadows, Dennis I Meadows, Jorgen Randers, William W. Behrens III ( 1972) The Limits to Growth: A Report to the Club of Rome - Short Version retrieved from http://www.ask-force.org/web/Global-Warming/Meadows-Limits-to-Growth-Short-1972.pdf
ARC Centre of Excellence in Coral Reef Studies ( 2018) Can sustainable development co-exist with current economic growth? Retrieved from https://phys.org/news/2018-09-sustainable-co-exist-current-economic-growth.html
University of Leeds (2018) A good life for all within the planet’s means. Retrieved from https://phys.org/news/2018-02-good-life-planet.html#nRlv