Three Companies Say ‘Oops’ In Different Ways
by Donella Meadows
— June 8, 2000 —
Three stories have hit the news lately concerning three corporations that have done — or may have done — serious environmental harm. They are coping with the situation in very different ways. Taken together, the stories suggest an odd combination of hope and cynicism. There are signs of honesty, good will, real learning. But [...]
Who Needs Germ-Fighting Vacuum Cleaner Bags?
by Donella Meadows
— July 15, 1999 —
My trusty Electrolux dealer dropped off a box of vacuum cleaner bags the other day. What stopped me from ripping it right open was not the label, I’m sorry to say, but the price.
Thirty bucks for 24 bags. A dollar and a quarter each. Electrolux bags have always been pricey, but even with handy [...]
CSA Farms Can Help Our Health, Our Land, and Our Farmers
By Donella Meadows
–April 16, 1998–
On average, 65 cents out of every dollar you spend for food at the supermarket go for packaging, delivery and marketing. Thirty cents go to chemical companies that make fertilizers, pesticides and genetically altered organisms. That leaves five cents for the farmer.
If you wonder why farms are failing (over 20,000 a year go under in the [...]
And You Thought You Liked Shrimp
By Donella Meadows
–December 11, 1997–
What’s worse? Hearing that something you really like is harmful to your health, socially shameful and environmentally unsupportable? Or NOT hearing that something you really like is harmful to your health, socially shameful and environmentally unsupportable?
If you picked the first, stop reading now.
The world shrimp catch has tripled since 1970. It’s now 50% beyond what the [...]
The Tobacco Companies Aren’t the Only Ones
By Donella Meadows
–June 26, 1997–
So the cigarette companies have negotiated a deal that would limit public control of their product and limit their liability for the millions of people who have died using that product.
As the nation debates their offer, I hear people branding tobacco executives as somehow uniquely evil. I’ve just read a book that leads me to believe [...]
