After inaugurating the Do the Math blog with two posts on the limits to physical and economic growth, I thought it was high time that I read the classic book The Limits to Growth describing the 1972 world computer model by MIT researchers Meadows, Meadows, Randers, and Behrens. I am deeply impressed by the work, and I am compelled to share the most salient features in this post.| Do the Math
[An updated treatment of this material appears in Chapter 2 of the Energy and Human Ambitions on a Finite Planet (free) textbook, and also forms the basis for a 2022 article in Nature Physics.]| Do the Math
What if we ask a rough-skinned newt, assigning it greater importance than is customary?| Do the Math
Image by Daniel Borker from Pixabay| Do the Math
Image by 12019 from Pixabay| Do the Math
Nothing lasts forever.| Do the Math
Image by naturfreund_pics from Pixabay| Do the Math
Courtesy Pixabay (PhotoMIX-Company)| Do the Math
Image by Ron van den Berg from Pixabay| Do the Math
From Pixabay/Activedia| Do the Math
From Pixabay (Kranic17/535 images)| Do the Math
From Pixabay (Ramdlon)| Do the Math
Author(s): Murphy, Thomas W, Jr | Abstract: Note: a two-side version optimized for printing is available in Supplemental Materials. Where is humanity going? How realistic is a future of fusion and space colonies? What constraints are imposed by physics, by resource availability, and by human psychology? Are default expectations grounded in reality?This textbook, written for a general-education audience, aims to address these questions without either the hype or the indifference typical of m...| escholarship.org
[An updated treatment of this material appears in Chapter 1 of the Energy and Human Ambitions on a Finite Planet (free) textbook, and also appears as part of an article in Nature Physics in 2022.]| Do the Math
The numbers had already left impressionable marks on me, and as they swirled in my head for some months I certainly had a sense for the urgent warning they wanted me to hear. But it wasn’t until I rubbed the numbers together that the message really rang out. Then plotting the historical evolution shook me anew. I was staring at the ecological cliff we appear to be driving over.| Do the Math
