Donella Hager "Dana" Meadows (March 13, 1941 – February 20, 2001) was an American

environmental scientist Environmental science is an interdisciplinary academic field that integrates physics, biology, and geography (including ecology, chemistry, plant science, zoology, mineralogy, oceanography, limnology, soil science, geology and physical geo ...

, educator, and writer. She is best known as lead author of the books ''

The Limits to Growth ''The Limits to Growth'' (''LTG'') is a 1972 report that discussed the possibility of exponential economic and population growth with finite supply of resources, studied by computer simulation. The study used the World3 computer model to simula ...

'' and '' Thinking In Systems: A Primer''.

Early life and education

Born in

Elgin, Illinois Elgin ( ) is a city in Cook and Kane counties in the northern part of the U.S. state of Illinois. Elgin is located northwest of Chicago, along the Fox River. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 114,797, the seventh-large ...

, Meadows was educated in science, receiving a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in chemistry from Carleton College in 1963 and a PhD in

biophysics Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that applies approaches and methods traditionally used in physics to study biological phenomena. Biophysics covers all scales of biological organization, from molecular to organismic and populations. ...

from Harvard in 1968. After a yearlong trip from England to Sri Lanka and back, she became a research fellow at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

as a member of a team in the department created by Jay Forrester, the inventor of system dynamics as well as the principle of magnetic data storage for computers.

Career

Meadows taught at

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

for 29 years, beginning in 1972.Meadows, Donella H. 2008, ''Thinking in Systems: A Primer'', Chelsea Green Publishing, Vermont, p. 213 (About the Author), . Meadows was honored both as a Pew Scholar in Conservation and Environment (1991) and as a

MacArthur Fellow The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and commonly but unofficially known as the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation typically to between 20 and 30 indi ...

(1994). She received the Walter C. Paine Science Education Award in 1990. Posthumously, she received the John H. Chafee Excellence in Environmental Affairs Award for 2001, presented by the

Conservation Law Foundation Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) is an environmental advocacy organization based in New England. Since 1966, CLF's mission has been to advocate for New England's environment and its communities. CLF's advocacy work takes place across five integr ...

. Meadows wrote "The Global Citizen," a weekly column on world events from a systems point of view. Many of these columns were compiled and published as a book by the same name. Her work is recognized as a formative influence on hundreds of other academic studies, government policy initiatives, and international agreements. Meadows was a longtime member of the United States Association for the Club of Rome, which instituted an award in her memory, the US Association for the Club of Rome Donella Meadows Award in Sustainable Global Actions. The award is given to an outstanding individual who has created actions in a global framework toward the sustainability goals Meadows expressed in her writings.

Work

''The Limits to Growth''

In 1972, Meadows was on the MIT team that produced the global

computer model Computer simulation is the process of mathematical modelling, performed on a computer, which is designed to predict the behaviour of, or the outcome of, a real-world or physical system. The reliability of some mathematical models can be deter ...

" World3" for the Club of Rome, providing the basis for ''The Limits to Growth.'' The book reported a study of long-term global trends in population, economics, and the environment. The book made headlines around the world and began a debate about the limits of Earth's capacity to support human economic expansion—a debate that continues to this day. Meadows was the book's lead author, and it had three coauthors: her husband Dennis Meadows, Jørgen Randers, and William W. Behrens III.

The Balaton Group

In 1982, Donella and Dennis Meadows created an international "network of networks" for leading researchers on resource use, environmental conservation, systems modeling, and sustainability. Since its foundation, the members have met at

Lake Balaton Lake Balaton () is a freshwater lake in the Transdanubian region of Hungary. It is the largest lake in Central Europe, and one of the region's foremost tourist destinations. The Zala River provides the largest inflow of water to the lake, and ...

, Hungary, every autumn. While the formal name for the network was the International Network of Resource Information Centres (INRIC), it became more popularly known as the Balaton Group, after the location of its meetings.

The Academy for Systems Change

Meadows founded the Sustainability Institute in 1996, which combined research in global systems with practical demonstrations of sustainable living, including the development of a

cohousing Cohousing is an intentional community of private homes clustered around shared space. The term originated in Denmark in late 1960s. Each attached or single family home has traditional amenities, including a private kitchen. Shared spaces typic ...

(or

ecovillage An ecovillage is a traditional or intentional community with the goal of becoming more socially, culturally, economically, and/or ecologically sustainable. An ecovillage strives to produce the least possible negative impact on the natural e ...

) and organic farm at Cobb Hill in

Hartland, Vermont Hartland is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 3,446 at the 2020 census. It includes the villages of Hartland, Hartland Four Corners, and North Hartland. History Hartland, originally named Hertford, was cha ...

. In 2011, the Sustainability Institute, originally adjacent to Cobb Hill, was renamed the Donella Meadows Institute and moved to Norwich, Vermont. Additional organizations that sprang from the Sustainability Institute include Sustainable Food Lab, Climate Interactive, and Sustainability Leaders Network. In 2016, the Donella Meadows Institute was renamed for a second time, and now operates as the Academy for Systems Change: https://www.academyforchange.org

State of the Village report

In 1990, Meadows published the State of the Village report under the title, "Who lives in the 'Global Village'?" which likened the world to a village of 1,000 people. Since then, "If the world were a village of 100 people", derived from her work but further reducing the numbers to those of a village of 100 people, has been published by others in English, Spanish, and Japanese.

Twelve leverage points

Meadows published ''Leverage Points: Places to Intervene in a System'', one of her best-known essays, in 1999. It describes the most and least effective types of interventions in a system (of any kind).

Personal life

Meadows died of

cerebral meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, headache, and neck stiffness. Other symptoms include confusion o ...

in 2001 at the age of 59.Donella Meadows – A Tribute. Leon Kolankiewicz. July 1, 2001. http://donellameadows.org/donella-meadows-a-tribute/

Selected publications

* Donella H. Meadows, et al. ''Limits to Growth: A Report for the Club of Rome's Project on the Predicament of Mankind'', New American Library, 1977, paperback, ; Universe Books, paperback, 1972, 0–87663–165–0 (scarce); ISBN Universe Books, hardcover, 1972, (scarce)
digital edition of 1972 printing
produced by the Dartmouth College Library. * Dennis L. Meadows, Donella H. Meadows, Eds. ''Toward Global Equilibrium: Collected Papers'', Pegasus Communications, 1973, hardcover * Donella H. Meadows, John M. Richardson and Gerhart Bruckmann, ''Groping in the Dark: The First Decade of Global Modelling''
John Wiley & Sons
1982, paperback, * Donella H. Meadows and J. M. Robinson, ''The Electronic Oracle: Computer Models and Social Decisions''
John Wiley & Sons
1985, hardcover, 462 pages, * Michael J. Caduto, foreword by Donella H. Meadows, illustrated by Joan Thomson, ''Pond and Brook: A Guide to Nature in Freshwater Environments''
University Press of New England
1990, paperback, 288 pages, * Donella H. Meadows, ''Global Citizen''
Island Press
1991, paperback 197 pages, * Donella H. Meadows et al. ''Beyond the limits : global collapse or a sustainable future''
Earthscan Publications
1992, * Dennis L. Meadows, Donella H. Meadows and Jorgen Randers, ''Beyond the Limits: Confronting Global Collapse, Envisioning a Sustainable Future''
Chelsea Green Publishing
1993, paperback, 320 pages, * edited by Sandi Brockway, foreword by Marilyn Ferguson, introduction by Denis Hayes, preface by Donella H. Meadows, ''Macrocosm U. S. A.: Possibilities for a New Progressive Era...''
Macrocosm
1993, paperback, 464 pages, * Donella H. Meadows, Jorgen Randers and Dennis L. Meadows ''Limits to Growth-The 30 year Update'', 2004, hardcover * Donella H. Meadows (2008) ''Thinking in Systems: A Primer'', Chelsea Green Publishing .

References

External links

Donella Meadows Project
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20030218010326/http://iisd1.iisd.ca/pcdf/meadows/ The Global Citizen, bi-weekly column by Meadowsbr>Another link for Global CitizenThe website of the Balaton Group (International Network of Resource Information Centers) Cobb Hill website
* ttp://www.miniature-earth.com/ The Miniature Earth project based on Donella Meadows text {{DEFAULTSORT:Meadows, Donella 1941 births 2001 deaths American environmentalists American women environmentalists Carleton College alumni Dartmouth College faculty Ecological economists Environmental scientists People associated with criticism of economic growth Harvard University alumni MacArthur Fellows American non-fiction environmental writers American systems scientists Vermont culture Sustainability advocates Women systems scientists 20th-century American women scientists 20th-century American scientists People from Elgin, Illinois People from Hanover, New Hampshire People from Plainfield, New Hampshire People from Hartland, Vermont American women academics