The Club of Rome
I have heard about this group for years and know very little about it or its members. Today, I asked GROK to explain.
Powerful sources of misinformation.
GROK answers questions:
🧶 Who founded the Club of Rome, when, and for what purpose?
🕵️♂️ The Club of Rome was founded in 1968 by Aurelio Peccei, an Italian industrialist, and Alexander King, a Scottish scientist.
It was established to address global challenges such as population growth, resource depletion, and environmental degradation through interdisciplinary research and dialogue.
The group’s purpose was to promote understanding of the interconnected economic, social, and environmental issues facing humanity and to advocate for sustainable development and long-term global planning.
Their seminal report, The Limits to Growth (1972), highlighted the risks of unchecked growth on a finite planet.
🧶 Explain Limits to Growth
🕵️♂️ The Limits to Growth is a 1972 report commissioned by the Club of Rome, written by a team led by Donella H. Meadows, Dennis L. Meadows, Jørgen Randers, and William W. Behrens III. It used computer modeling, specifically the World3 system dynamics model, to simulate the long-term consequences of exponential economic and population growth on Earth’s finite resources. Here’s a clear explanation of its key points, purpose, and impact:
Core Concept
The report explored how five key variables—population, industrial output, food production, resource depletion, and pollution—interact in a finite world. It argued that if growth trends in these areas continued unchecked, humanity would face ecological and economic collapse within the 21st century due to resource exhaustion, environmental degradation, and declining agricultural and industrial capacity.
Key Findings
Exponential Growth vs. Finite Resources: The report highlighted that exponential growth (e.g., doubling of population or resource use) cannot continue indefinitely on a planet with limited resources like arable land, water, and minerals.
Scenarios: Using World3, the team ran multiple scenarios:
Business-as-usual: Continued growth leads to overshoot and collapse by the mid-21st century, as resources deplete and pollution overwhelms ecosystems.
Technological optimism: Even with advanced technology or increased resource availability, collapse is delayed but not prevented without addressing growth itself.
Stabilized world: Scenarios with proactive measures—like reducing birth rates, limiting industrial output, and prioritizing sustainability—could achieve a stable, sustainable global system.
Overshoot and Collapse: If humanity exceeds Earth’s carrying capacity, feedback loops (e.g., declining food production or pollution spikes) could trigger societal decline or collapse.
Time Lags: The model showed delays between cause and effect (e.g., pollution’s impact may not be felt for decades), making early action critical.
Purpose
The report aimed to:
Raise awareness about the interdependence of global systems (economy, environment, society).
Warn policymakers and the public about the risks of unchecked growth.
Encourage proactive measures for sustainability, such as population control, resource conservation, and pollution reduction.
Methodology
The World3 model was groundbreaking for its time, using system dynamics to simulate complex interactions. It wasn’t a prediction but a tool to explore “what if” scenarios based on different assumptions. Critics noted limitations, like oversimplified assumptions or lack of precise data, but the model’s strength was its focus on systemic trends rather than exact forecasts.
Impact and Legacy
Global Influence: The report sold millions of copies, was translated into dozens of languages, and sparked global debate about sustainability and growth. It influenced environmental movements and policy discussions.
Controversy: Critics, especially from pro-growth economic circles, argued it was overly pessimistic or underestimated human ingenuity and market solutions. Others praised its foresight in highlighting ecological limits.
Updates: The authors revisited the model in 1992 (Beyond the Limits) and 2004 (Limits to Growth: The 30-Year Update), refining scenarios and noting that real-world trends (e.g., resource depletion, climate change) were tracking closely with the original business-as-usual collapse scenario.
Relevance Today: The report’s warnings align with current issues like climate change, biodiversity loss, and resource scarcity. It remains a foundational text in sustainability studies and systems thinking.
Key Takeaway
The Limits to Growth didn’t predict doom but showed that sustainable development requires balancing human demands with Earth’s capacity. It urged humanity to act early to avoid overshoot, advocating for policies that prioritize long-term stability over short-term growth. While controversial, its core message—that infinite growth on a finite planet is unsustainable—remains a critical lens for understanding global challenges.
If you’d like a chart to visualize the World3 model’s scenarios (e.g., population or resource trends), let me know, and I can generate one! Or, if you want deeper analysis of specific aspects, like criticisms or modern relevance, I can dive into those too.
🧶 What is CACOR?
🕵️♂️ CACOR, or the Canadian Association for the Club of Rome, is a non-profit organization founded in 1974 to promote the ideas and objectives of the Club of Rome within Canada. The Club of Rome is an international think tank established in 1968, focused on addressing global challenges such as sustainability, resource depletion, and systemic societal issues. CACOR serves as a national affiliate, fostering dialogue, research, and policy advocacy on these topics.
Key points about CACOR:
Mission: It aims to advance sustainable development and systems thinking, aligning with the Club of Rome’s emphasis on long-term global issues.
Activities: CACOR organizes lectures, publishes reports, and engages in public education to promote sustainable policies. It has historically influenced Canadian policy, particularly during Pierre Trudeau’s government (1968–1984).
Leadership: Notable figures include J. Rennie Whitehead, a founding member and Chairman (1976–1979), Ted Manning (Chair), Nigel Weir (Vice-Chair), and Jean Dougherty (Secretary).
Impact: CACOR played a role in events like the 1971 Montebello meeting, where the Club of Rome’s Limits to Growth proposals were discussed, securing Canadian government support.
CACOR remains active in promoting discussions on climate, energy, and societal challenges, reflecting the Club of Rome’s global mission.
My comments
The Global Warming narrative, which was renamed ‘Climate Change’, is an interesting chapter of social and economic engineering that has swept over humanity during my lifetime.
It’s early promoters and enablers are of interest to me because they did not have the advantages that we take for granted today with respect to information access in the Digital Age. Looking back to life from the 1960s up until 2010, communications and professional networking were downright prehistoric compared to today.
Canadian Connection:
The Club of Rome (COR) and another globally influential organization, The Bilderberg Group, included notable participants such as former Prime Ministers Lester B. Pearson (1968), Pierre Elliott Trudeau (1968), Jean Chrétien (1996), Paul Martin (1996), and Stephen Harper (2003), as well as Nigel S. Wright, former Chief of Staff to the Canadian Prime Minister (2012). These connections highlight Canada’s involvement in elite transatlantic networks via the Canadian Association for the Club of Rome (CACOR).
The fact that the Club of Rome is still active today is perplexing to me. How can its members not know that the demonizing of CO2 and fossil fuels has never been a serious threat?
An excerpt from its web site describes the strategy.
From “About Us”
The Club of Rome pushes for the transformational shifts needed for society to emerge from emergency with a new way of being human that promotes wellbeing for all. It is our aim to accelerate a better future for all; move towards more equitable economic, finance, socio-political models; and ensure an inclusive human dimension to all systems change and transitioning.
Our five impact hubs are linked and should be seen as integrated pillars of a shifting paradigm. The Emerging New Civilisations, Reframing Economics and Rethinking Finance initiatives represent a shift in paradigm from the destructive pathway humanity is on now.
The planetary emergency we find ourselves in regarding climate change, is a symptom of this destructive pathway of growth at all costs and growing structural inequities.
At a time when the world’s youth are voicing their growing disappointment in the current lack of leadership and action on important systemic issues like climate change, species extinction and socio-political malaise, enhancing a vibrant intergenerational dialogue and the co-creation of solutions is essential.
The Club of Rome focuses on influencing these five major areas to ensure a broader societal and planetary balance. We aim to build on a foundation of 50 years of thought leadership and transformational insight from past and current members and take into consideration new pioneering thinking and pathways for change.
Full disclosure?
From GROK:
While CACOR’s core operations rely on membership and event fees, its ability to secure external funding for specific initiatives has been significant, particularly in its early years.
The organization’s status as a registered charity also enables it to seek public donations to further its goals.
For the most current details on funding, one would need to consult CACOR’s website (www.canadiancor.com) or contact the organization directly, as specific financial details beyond these sources are not publicly detailed.
No secrecy needed.
CACOR is a special interest lobby organization and a registered charity. Any government subsidies or tax breaks it received must be disclosed publicly.
As a taxpayer, I claim a right to know to whom my tax dollars are going, the reason why, and the ability to opt out of paying those taxes.
If CO2 and climate change were truly the existential threat that is claimed, I have the following questions:
Why are kinetic wars allowed to carry on when these actions consume countless tons of "fossil fuels", while destroying not only what was built over decades using "fossil fuels" (and thus, requiring energy intensive re-construction), but also the destruction of natural flora, fauna and the atmosphere? Isn't it the job of NGO's like the UN to find diplomatic solutions before the eruption of fighting?
Likewise, over the past decade, we have been sucked into re-hashing the science of human biology. Now we are compelled to believe that magical thinking such as men becoming women (and vice-versa) is "settled science". If we truly are in a global existential crisis, wouldn't we want the focus of our greatest minds to be on finding real-world solutions to these great problems, instead of making new ones up ?
I believe Maurice Strong was involved with the Club of Rome, alongside OUR DEAR LEADER I (Pierre Eliott Trudeau). Allegedly it was Maurice Strong (from Winnipeg, Manitoba) that came up with the GLOBAL PROBLEM the CLUB was looking for to terrorize citizens from around the world to the point of compliance to THE CLUB'S SOLUTION. So began the war on carbon, initially called GLOBAL WARMING, and when that became so obviously wrong, the ingenious move to CLIMATE CHANGE would fit the bill nicely. The war on carbon is essentially a war on humanity, because I cannot think of many human activities from every breath we take to every electrical device we employ or any activity we take part in that does not emit some sort of carbon.