Scan barcode
A review by taykah
Beyond the Limits: Confronting Global Collapse, Envisioning a Sustainable Future by Donella H. Meadows
5.0
A scientific book for the general public which proposes a sustainable world. They explain a computer model they built back in the 1970s, which they then updated and ran again in the 90s. The results most certainly illustrate that our current world system is headed for an overshoot (using too many resources for too many reasons without enough waste receptacles without noticing the signs saying "TOO MUCH!") and collapse (because we don't act in time to save ourselves).
Very clear book, poetically written at times. Takes us through possible scenarios by asking "what if...?" questions and applying them to the model and explaining the results. Basically - we need to stop having more than replacement children, settle with sufficient material consumption, invest in resource efficiency and agricultural technology to avoid collapse, provide for all the people, and maintain a decent standard of living. ("Basically.")
In the last section, researchers remove their researcher hats and speak inspiringly as humans about visioning, learning, truth-telling, and loving - motivating us to change our material needs to non-material opportunities. Beautiful and smart.
Very clear book, poetically written at times. Takes us through possible scenarios by asking "what if...?" questions and applying them to the model and explaining the results. Basically - we need to stop having more than replacement children, settle with sufficient material consumption, invest in resource efficiency and agricultural technology to avoid collapse, provide for all the people, and maintain a decent standard of living. ("Basically.")
In the last section, researchers remove their researcher hats and speak inspiringly as humans about visioning, learning, truth-telling, and loving - motivating us to change our material needs to non-material opportunities. Beautiful and smart.