Quotations and Literature Forum

An awareness of the approach of physical limits to human civilization around 1970 led to a forecast of overshoot and decline in a perfect storm around 2030. A burgeoning human population is passing the limits of a finite planet, including food, water and energy, and heading for a collapse. Now 40 years of the 60 year period has passed. Events are following the forecast path and the crisis is only 20 years away.

Many elements of that forecast have occurred as expected, including peak oil, climate change, species extinction and economic crisis. The signs of approaching limits are clear. Our civilisation may soon crash.


Nothing has been done in the past several decades of denial. Instead there has been an increase in control by a global oligarchy fixated on growth.

The threat facing us is frightening, but unfortunately it is a reality. The challenge is to stop pretending the current way of operation is sustainable. We must stop being scared and deal calmly with the real world.

These challenges are well documented. In the words of The United Kingdom's chief scientist Professor John Beddington, " we head into a perfect storm in 2030, because all of these things are operating on the same time frame".

We find ourselves at a critical point of history. These considerable challenges demand vigorous reaction, with policies suited to today's problems and opportunities. This could be a great time to be alive, a time of challenge and action as we turn away from the selfish hedonism of the consumer society, with its acceptance of intolerable inequality, indecent wealth and miserable poverty, to a revitalised and caring society providing a decent life for everyone together with the recognition of the limits of a finite world and respect for the environment. This requires huge changes in government's policies.