The State of the World as Seen by its Babies
by Donella Meadows
— February 4, 1999 —
Politicians and economists look at the latest GDP reports to see how their nations are doing. I look at the IMR reports.
IMR stands for infant mortality rate. It’s the number of babies out of every thousand born who die before they reach their first birthday. To give you an idea of the range of [...]
The Ads Tell the Story of the Universe
By Donella Meadows
–May 1, 1997–
You don’t expect an unsettling indictment of modern advertising to crop up in a book about the birth of the universe. But there it is, right in the middle of the second chapter of physicist Brian Swimme’s new book “The Hidden Heart of the Cosmos.”
Swimme describes how children have historically learned their place in the world. [...]
How Do We Keep Pesticides Out of Our Foods, if the Government Doesn’t?
By Donella Meadows
–October 10, 1996–
“Have you ever known a pesticide to kill anyone?” a neighbor asked me the other day. She’s a good farmer. She uses pesticides lightly, only when she really needs them. I pick apples at her place, because on my own, where I use no pesticides, I do fine with every crop except apples.
No, I had to [...]
The New Food Safety Law — A Bit Better, But Only a Bit
By Donella Meadows
–October 3, 1996–
If you are a purist who would just as soon not have any harmful chemicals in your food, you will not feel protected by the new “Food Quality Protection Act of 1996.” If you’re a political realist, though, you might say, “Well, heck, it’s better than the law we had before. It’s probably the best we’re [...]
Children, Pesticides, and Long Delays
By Donella Meadows
–July 15, 1993–
Remember Alar? It was a chemical used on apples to make them redder and to hold them on the tree longer. Alar was suspected of causing cancer, but the government did nothing about it until 1989, when the National Resources Defense Council and Meryl Streep stirred up a fuss. There was a scary segment about Alar [...]
