Dennis Meadows in Ulm and the Presentation of the German Culture Award in Munich
Limits to Growth After 45 Years
The question of the limits to growth, as posed by the Club of Rome back in 1972, remains as relevant today as ever. During the University Days on Ecological-Social Market Economy and Sustainability on Friday, May 24, renowned U.S. economist Professor Dennis Meadows once again assessed the situation. Meadows led the research team that produced the world-famous Club of Rome report and, in his lecture, presented updated scenarios addressing the current state of the world’s resource situation. Around 350 students and interested attendees participated in the event at the University of Ulm. You can find the presentation slides available for download here.
Professor Franz Josef Radermacher, Director of FAW/n and member of the Club of Rome, introduced the highly topical subject, and University President Professor Michael Weber delivered a welcoming address. The session was moderated by Tobias Orthen.
The scenarios described by Meadows range from a sustainable world to collapse. So where do we stand in 2019?
According to Meadows, the world is currently following the “Standard Scenario” outlined in the 1972 report – global population continues to grow, resource consumption keeps rising, and humanity is heading toward ecological collapse. The visible “symptoms” include climate change, water scarcity, and loss of biodiversity.
– Prof. Michael Weber
– Prof. Franz Josef Radermacher
– Prof. Dennis Meadows
Humanity now faces two choices: either we steer our civilization toward sustainability, or these very symptoms will bring growth to an end.
But how close is the world we know to collapse? In his lecture, “Evaluating the Limits to Growth: Projections after 45 Years,” Professor Meadows did not spare his audience from uncomfortable truths.
The University Days on Ecological-Social Market Economy and Sustainability have been organized since 2010 by the Research Institute for Applied Knowledge Processing/n (FAW/n), the University of Ulm, and other partners including Club of Rome Germany and the Global Marshall Plan Initiative in the German-speaking world.
German Culture Award 2019 for Dennis L. Meadows
Fittingly for the occasion, Dennis L. Meadows was awarded the German Culture Prize 2019 in the Allerheiligen-Hofkirche of the Residenz in Munich earlier that morning. The ceremony was under the patronage of Prime Minister Dr. Markus Söder. The laudatory speech was delivered by Prof. Dr. Dr. Dr. h.c. Franz Josef Radermacher, member of the Club of Rome.
The speeches by Prof. Radermacher and Dennis L. Meadows can be accessed via the following links:
Laudation by Prof. Franz Josef Radermacher (PDF, German version)
Laudation by Prof. Franz Josef Radermacher for Dennis L. Meadows (English original) – MP3 Audio | 20.0 MB
Acceptance speech by Dennis L. Meadows (MP3 Audio), also translated from English into German by Udo E. Simonis, Professor Emeritus of Environmental Policy at the Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin (WZB), published in UNIVERSITAS magazine, issue 11/19
Words of Thanks from Dennis L. Meadows – MP3 Audio | 8.7 MB