jad@harpo.UUCP (jad) (07/23/84)
The following is a description of one of the many groups cataloged in the ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ASSOCIATIONS, 18th Edition - 1984. It may interest those who believe strongly enough in the group's aims to consider pursuing them. CLUB OF ROME c/o Aurelio Peccei 23, Viale Civilta del Lavoro I-00144 Rome, Italy Aurelio Peccei, Pres. founded: 1968. members: 100 Non-political, multi-national group of scientists, humanists, economists, educators, national and international civil servants and industrialists concerned about the complex problems confronting all societies, both in- dustrialized and developing. Seeks to act as a catalyst in effecting change. Believes that the time has come for a fundamental reassessment of science and technology, their place in society, and their implications for the future. Promotes "research and reflection" activities concerning global problems and how to face them. Initiated Project On The Predicament Of Mankind comprising many studies , including The Limits To Growth, Mankind At The Turning Point, Reshaping The International Order, Goals For Mankind, The Human Quality, Beyond The Age Of Waste, Energy: The Countdown, No Limits To Learning, Dialogue On Wealth And Welfare, Road Maps To The Future, One Hundred Pages For The Future, and Microelectronics And Society -- For Better Or For Worse.
rmb@intelob.UUCP (07/24/84)
My recollection of the works of the Club of Rome, especially the much-publicized "Limits to Growth", was that they were political polemics masquerading as "scientific" studies. The Limits to Growth purported to prove that by the mid-1980's the world would be running out of all sorts of non-renewable resources, especially oil; the "proof" was a computerized macroeconomic model whose assumptions were somewhat simplistic (e.g. world energy consumption would continue to increase at the rates that had prevailed in the '60s, regardless of the order-of-magnitude increase in price resulting from the '73 oil embargo!) and whose stability was extremely suspect. All in all, a classic case of GIGO on which many column-inches of newsprint were wasted. Bob Bentley "...for in spite of all temptations/ to belong to other nations/ Intel Corp. he remains an Englishman" Hillsboro, Oregon ...tektronix!ogcvax!inteloa!rmb