Donella (Dana) Meadows inspired countless individuals with her pioneering work in systems thinking, her strong voice in support of a just and sustainable world, and her undefeatable optimism. Her ideas and writing remain as influential today as ever. The Global Citizens blog is an ever-growing collection of reports, reflections, commentaries, thoughts, and stories by people striving to fulfill Dana's vision of a world that aligns environmental, social, and economic systems. Read on to learn more about this vision and what it means at all scales.

Manifesto for a Post-Growth Economy

Posted by Kindle Loomis, Published: September 21st, 2012

By James Gustave Speth

What single change stands to give Americans more free time, healthier ecosystems, and more meaningful jobs? Slowing down GDP growth can mean more time to do things we love. Image credit: Qfamily via Flickr Editor’s introduction: Gus Speth has been a co-founder of the Natural Resources Defense Council, an advisor to presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, the head of the United Nations’ [...]

Last Call: A Documentary Film About The Limits to Growth

Posted by Kindle Loomis, Published: September 20th, 2012

By Sarah Parkinson

“There are physical limits to growth which, given current trends, are very likely to be encountered even within the lifetime of our children…The most likely outcome of running into these limits if we continue to ignore them is that we’ll overshoot those limits and collapse…Every year we delay decreases our ultimate options.”   –Dennis Meadows, 1972   While this warning has been [...]

Coming Up! NAAEE 41st Annual Environmental Education Conference

Posted by Kindle Loomis, Published: September 18th, 2012

On October 9-13, 2012 in Oakland, California, NAAEE (North American Association for Environmental Education) will be hosting its 41st annual conference, “Gaining Perspective: Seeing Environmental Education Through Different Lenses.” The event will feature workshops, field trips, special events, and a diverse group of keynote speakers presenting from the perspective of researchers, teachers, farmers, authors, conservation managers, and much more. This conference will focus on the latest and best-in-class [...]

The Social and Psychological Foundations of Climate Change

Posted by Kindle Loomis, Published: September 17th, 2012

The problem of climate change has been defined and diagnosed predominately through scientific measurement, as with these atmospheric mapping instruments. Greater inclusion of the social sciences is needed to deepen insight into the relationship of these scientific findings to their broader social context.Image credit: Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego In Brief The debate over climate change has come largely from [...]

Can We Avoid the Perfect Storm?

Posted by Kindle Loomis, Published: September 10th, 2012

By David Orr

It is quite possible that by the year 2100 human life will have become extinct or will be confined to a few residential areas that have escaped the devastating effects of nuclear holocaust or global warming. —Brian Barry1 Evolution equipped us to deal with threats from dependably loathsome enemies and fearsome creatures, but not with the opaque and cumulative long-term consequences of [...]

About The Donella Meadows Project

The mission of the Donella Meadows Project is to preserve Donella (Dana) H. Meadows’s legacy as an inspiring leader, scholar, writer, and teacher; to manage the intellectual property rights related to Dana’s published work; to provide and maintain a comprehensive and easily accessible archive of her work online, including articles, columns, and letters; to develop new resources and programs that apply her ideas to current issues and make them available to an ever-larger network of students, practitioners, and leaders in social change.  Read More

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