Civilization in crisis: On the edge of an abyss -- Global ecological situation -- Critically overpopulated planet -- The ecological equivalents of modern man -- Civilization teetering over the abyss of crisis (conclusion) -- The social dimension of the crisis -- The role of centralized and market economies -- The crisis of values as the main cause of the ecological challenge -- The world community: Politicians and scientists in search of a solution -- The mission of the Club of Rome -- Programs for change: Stockholm-Rio-Johannesburg -- Toward a systemic understanding of the biosphere -- The constancy of the planetary environment in light of the biotic regulation mechanism -- Sustainable development: Between complacency and reality -- The basis of sustainability in nature and in civilization -- The national colors of sustainable development -- Co-evolution of nature and society: Fact or fiction? -- On the scale of a scientific approach -- Sustainable development in relation to the carrying capacity of the biosphere -- The starting conditions of sustainable development and the preservation of ecosystems by country and continent -- Navigation directions: Indicators of sustainable development -- "Is there enough community, responsibility, discipline and love?" (Meadows et al., 1992) -- The barricades of old thinking in the way of sustainable development -- What the market economy can and cannot accomplish -- Sustainable development and the "real human condition" -- The social premises of sustainable development and the globalization problem. It is over 15 years since Agenda 21 was adopted in Rio de Janeiro, and over 100 countries have now espoused this code to use sustainable development as a means of avoiding an ecological catastrophe. However it is obvious that, even with this commitment, there is still a significant lack of both understanding and action. Sustainable Development and the Limitation of Growth presents the ecological, demographic, economic and socio-psychological manifestations of the global crisis, and outlines the immutable laws and limitations which determine the existence of all living things in the biosphere. The book contends that sustainability is achievable only on a global scale and cannot be regionalized or isolated; demonstrates the need to move to a new way of thinking; shows humanity its real place in the natural environment; highlights the importance of global environmental stability. This unique work argues for a change in the sustainable development paradigm, the strategic nucleus of which must be the conservation of ecosystems, especially forests, still in existence and the partial reconstruction of destroyed ecosystems, as well as for an understanding of humanity's real place in the natural environment and the gravity of the ecological threat before us. 1