This is day two of our lab experiment demonstrating the power of exponential growth. Yesterday we placed one grain of wheat in our beaker. Here’s what that looked like:

Today we will double the number of grains in our beaker. Tomorrow we’ll double that. This represents just under 3% growth per hour. It’s not too late for you to join us in this demonstration. Get your family involved, or co-workers, or fellow students. Share your photos, videos or experiment stories with us in the comments below.

For forty years, the scientists who developed the computer models behind the Club of Rome‘s Limits to Growth study have watched as their recommendations were ignored. Visiting with Dennis Meadows a couple of year ago I believe I could sense the toll that had taken. In my own case, I’ve been busting growth addiction for only 25% of that time, and I feel pretty weary at times. . . .

There are two components to making our civilization truly sustainable. One is changing our own personal behavior – how much energy and resources we consume in our daily lives, as well as how many children we have and how soon we start our families. The other is changing the system – public policy goals and system structures. Today public policy almost universally seeks and subsidizes growth.

Getting elected leaders to eschew the outdated and destructive goal of perpetual growth is one of our biggest challenges. First, we have to get them to question unexamined assumptions about growth being the path to prosperity. Second, we have to free them from being handcuffed to growth by campaign funding from growth profiteers. . . .

40 years ago today, a group of MIT scientists made their first public report on a study that came to be known as Limits to Growth. They had used systems dynamics to build a computer model of human activity on Earth. They called the model World3. Today I want to share a clip from GrowthBusters about that landmark study:

The business-as-usual scenario played out by World3 sounded an alarm – that we need to make some changes if we want to avoid overshooting the capacity of the planet and the ugly collapse that would ensue. For the next 40 years we kept hitting the snooze button.

Now, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of that study, it is time for a new wake-up call. From today through Earth Day, I intend to honor that study and reawaken the discussion surrounding limits to growth on a finite planet. I’m not alone in this quest. Many brilliant, articulate experts have agreed to share their thoughts with us. And the Club of Rome, which commissioned that original Limits to Growth study, will have a lot going on, too. I have some twists, turns and surprises planned along the way. So fasten your seatbelt! . . .

Retired physics professor Al Bartlett (to whom the GrowthBusters movie was dedicated), is world famous both for his Laws Related to Sustainability and his lecture about exponential growth. Audiences frequently tell me this segment from GrowthBusters is one of the most powerful. Share it with your lab partners (for the experiment we’re starting tomorrow, see below). And share it with everyone who needs to grasp this concept.

We’re one day away from launching our Limits to Growth 40th anniversary campaign. Be sure to check back tomorrow (subscribe to this blog at the right to be sure you don’t miss it). That’s also when you’ll start your exponential growth demonstration/experiment, so be sure you’ve got the supplies ready (see yesterday’s post). You’re invited to share your experiment experience with us as you go along (written comments, photos, even video), so consider chronicling your progress in one or more of these ways. . . .

On Monday the GrowthBusters project begins a campaign to honor the 40th anniversary of the landmark Limits to Growth study. If you’re not already subscribed to my blog, please do so – you won’t regret it. During March and April I’ll be sharing insights from the leading thinkers in sustainability, economics, population and environment. I’ll also be posting segments from the GrowthBusters movie related to the study. You’ll also be treated to clips that never made the film, including an interview filmed just last week with Jorgen Randers, one of the original MIT team on the study.

As we go along, we’ll also perform a little experiment to demonstrate the power of exponential growth. Now you may think you have a good handle on the mathematics of growth. I feel I certainly do. But I’ll wager that as the experiment proceeds, we may be just as astonished as everyone else. This experiment is also a wonderful way to engage your family (especially your kids), your roommates, or office colleagues. You can have some fun and spark some interesting conversations. . . .