On March 2, 1972, limits-to-growth-1972 was released at a press conference in Washington DC, commissioned by the club-of-rome and produced by the mit-system-dynamics-group under the leadership of dennis-meadows.
The book presented the results of World3, a computer model of global resource dynamics developed by Donella Meadows and her collaborators at MIT. Using stocks-and-flows, feedback-loops, and exponential-growth dynamics, the model projected that continued growth in population and industrial output would lead to overshoot-and-collapse within the 21st century unless significant changes were made.
The publication was an immediate global sensation. The book sold approximately 12 million copies and was translated into 30 languages, making it one of the best-selling environmental books in history. It sparked intense controversy — praised by environmentalists, attacked by economists and growth advocates.
dennis-meadows, jorgen-randers, and william-behrens-iii were co-authors alongside Donella Meadows. The project had been initiated by aurelio-peccei of the club-of-rome during the club-of-rome-commission in 1970.
The publication marked the beginning of the dartmouth-and-global-citizen-1972-2001 era of Meadows's career, as she moved to dartmouth-college and began her long career as a public intellectual. The findings — especially the scenarios involving overshoot-and-collapse — defined the terms of environmental debate for decades.