Al Gore’s new documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth,” is perhaps the strongest voice yet to bring the crisis of global warming to public attention. But clear and compelling data on climate change has been available for more than a generation, as we learn from MIT-trained scientist Dennis Meadows.

More than 30 years ago, Meadows began research on the consequences of industrial and population growth on our planet. Backed by an understanding of complex systems, sophisticated computer modeling, and timely data, he and his team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology created a range of scenarios of the future. Published in the controversial 1972 bestseller “Limits to Growth” (named one of the 10 Most Harmful Books of the 19th and 20th Centuries by conservative weekly Human Events Online), their projections were sobering: Given the world's ever- increasing appetites, the same pattern of growth that had brought a century of progress could eventually lead to a period of dramatic reversal. Growth would bring not only climate change, but also other widespread and potentially disastrous consequences, such as decreased soil fertility and food production, scarcity of clean drinking water, environmental damage from pollutants, and failing energy resources.

In the video “Growth on a Finite Planet,” Meadows points out that while the results of his early research were widely publicized, few individuals or institutions took the truths they revealed to heart and changed their behaviors. In fact, as a recent update of his research has shown, the pattern of industrial and population growth has not improved in all the intervening years. He solemnly observes, “Thirty years ago when we ran the model, it was easy to find sustainable solutions. In the last update, we had to work so hard to reach the same result.”

The updated data shows that the cautionary 1972 projections hold up well. “There are many lessons in these projections, among them, that growth and progress are not going to continue forever--they will, under one circumstance or another, stop,” Meadows argues. “And the only question is whether they stop for reasons which we pick or they stop for reasons which are forced on us by the natural and political systems.” Apart from T.V. images of breaking icebergs and stranded polar bears, the effects of global warming have not yet arrived in most of our backyards. But Meadows believes that within the next 10 to 15 years, the consequences suggested by his research will start to intrude unmistakably into our daily lives.

Far from being a doomsayer, Meadows offers direction to individuals and institutions ready to become part of the solution. He says, "We're dealing with very large aggregates of issues--economic, social, biological, cultural, political--and everything is connected to everything else. So the foundation for a solution is for people to be more adept at understanding complex systems, not only through computer models, but also through storytelling, analogies, metaphors, and so forth."

He advises businesses, governments, communities, and individuals to follow several key, guiding principles. Among them are developing humility--so we can more clearly acknowledge our reliance on other parts of the system--and overcoming our preoccupation with economic indicators as the primary measures of well-being. Also, we can lower frivolous consumption by "recognizing when we have enough" and reduce pollution by adopting the approach of "leaving our 'campsite' a little better than we found it."

Though Meadows believes people will endure unexpected hardships as we finally face the truth of how our behaviors have contributed to global warming, he is optimistic. He sees the opportunity to establish a more humane society that doesn’t focus on consumption as its source of well- being. Meadows predicts, “Our way of life in the future is going to look very different from what we have today, but in many ways I think it will be more satisfying."

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Dr. Meadows is available for interviews. Please contact Vicky Schubert at 1-781-398-9700 with your request.

"Growth on a Finite Planet" is the latest video in Pegasus Communications' "One on One" series. The series is designed to bring leaders of organizations face to face with the people who are changing the ways we think about our organizations and the world. Leaders, organizational learning and development practitioners, consultants, and teachers will find its intimate atmosphere and practical focus deliver a powerful, memorable learning experience in seminar, workshop, retreat, and classroom settings. Video clips can be viewed on the Pegasus web site at www.pegasuscom.com/planet.html.

About the Video: "One on One with Dennis Meadows: Growth on a Finite Planet" (Pegasus Communications, 2005; 47 minutes, color, $79.00). To order, visit www.pegasuscom.com or call 1-800-272-0945.

Pegasus Communications, Inc., is the world's leading provider of practical, cutting-edge resources on systems thinking, management innovation, organizational change, and the next-generation workplace.