In my opinion the Club of Rome were quite right about the inevitable limits to growth, except that they got their time frame wrong.

One of the movers and shakers of that report was Ervin Laszlo. Check out his CV on Wiki.

He is still very much alive and even writes and talks about the possible cultural implications and challenges of the 2012 Mayan cosmological cycle.
He even convenes forums which discuss the science versus religion conundrum which feature thinkers and philosophers who you wont find in the usual dim-witted forums sponsored by conservative Christians or the Templeton Foundation.

He also founded the Club of Budapest which is a sophisticated think tank or cultural forum (clearing house) which makes the people who are fans of Ayn Rand and who cluster around the IPA and Quadrant look like ignorant intellectual and cultural cripples.

We are having the coolest summer in 52 yrs and global warming continues with expoential growth in CO2? Sounds like the supersticious rubbish of the Mayan Calander has more substance the AGW high priests.

Good article summarizing the problems human civilization faces Peter.
Mayan analogy I think only useful insofar as it reminds us that even ancient civilizations thought a lot about their actions in relation to averting catastrophe.

So what can we do about it as individuals? How do we determine to what extent the institutions to which we 'belong' / work for / buy from/ are members of - are a part of the problem? We are schooled for obedience to these institutions to 'get along' in life

We 'Westerners' all live in cities or towns, pay money for food and things produced elsewhere. It is this enticing lifestyle being embraced by an ever-growing population that is the problem and it is going off the rails. Somewhere we have crossed a line; lost sight or when enough is enough; what is really valuable in life.

In semi retirement I've managed to partly escape it; own my own home and don't have to work or rely on social security to survive. I dont have all the answers but do have several maxims that help me:
- Small is beautiful
- Keep reverence, thankfulness and respect
- Going by bus,walking or biking is best
- The best things in life - loved ones and nature - cost nothing to enjoy.
- keep active physically and mentally - whether paid or unpaid.

Arjay,

Although they are related, weather and climate are not the same thing.

Roses1,

Good response to the article (unlike so many others caught up on the Mayan calendar aspect) - but I think it is a great article!

Setting global warming aside (as perhaps being a bit less compelling than the other issues raised) the author has put the several aspects of the currently stressed global situation into a most revealing and compelling correlation.

I have new respect for the 'Occupy' movement, but wonder if those involved fully understand the scope of change that is needed/indicated. It is little wonder the movement itself has difficulty expounding its objectives, for the changes required (as indicated in the article) are both extensive and profound. The 'sense' (or sensing) of youth, stirring to action for change, although lacking precise understanding or exposition of detail, is as a barometer of social or societal wellbeing (or lack thereof), and now, as so often in the past, proves to be warranting serious recognition and consideration.

Perhaps we 'olds' are too staid in our ways, too reluctant to agitate for reform of failing or corrupted systems - of government, of economic, fiscal and trade 'arrangements', even of representation - although they are failing us and future generations quite badly. Somehow, the many have been short-changed and deceived by the few (as in the GFC and now European and US near-meltdowns). We cannot dare to trust those failed systems to simply self-correct.

2012 is indeed going to be an eventful year, one way or another.

I'm sorry that I put so much Mayan calendar in the title and the slug and that hardly anyone seems to understand Peter was being ironic and so was I. I assume he, like me, thought it might give an additional edge of novelty that might get people reading.