The Club of Rome is a German-based global think tank that deals with a variety of international political issues. It raised considerable public attention with its report The Limits to Growth, which has sold 30 million copies in more than 30 translations making it the best selling environment book in world history. The report was published in 1972, which predicted that economic growth could not continue indefinitely because of the limited availability of natural resources, particularly oil. The oil crisis of 1973 increased public concern about this problem. However, most of the Club of Rome's more dire predictions from the 1970s about resource exhaustion have not come to pass. Some critics dismiss the Club's warnings as motivated by a Left-leaning political agenda, rather than scientific fact. Conspiracy theorists occasionally link the Club with various world conspiracies, notably the New World Order.

According to its website, it is composed of "scientists, economists, businessmen, international high civil servants, heads of state and former heads of state from all five continents who are convinced that the future of humankind is not determined once and for all and that each human being can contribute to the improvement of our societies."

Prince of Jordan El Hassan bin Talal is the current President of The Club of Rome. Some other active members are: Benjamin Bassin, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, Juan Luis Cebrian, Orio Giarini, Talal Halman, Kamal Hossain, Esko Kalimo, Ashok Khosla, Martin Lees, Roberto Peccei, Maria Ramirez Ribes, Victor A. Sadovnichy, Keith Suter, Majid Tehranian, Raoul Weiler, Anders Wijkman, Mikhail Gorbachev.

External link

• Official home page (http://www.clubofrome.org)

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