The Costs of the Greenhouse Effect will be Unpayable
By Donella Meadows
–October 5, 1989–
Forward-thinking people are preparing for the greenhouse effect. Barge companies on the Mississippi are acquiring railroads in case the river becomes permanently unnavigable. Planners of Boston’s sewage treatment system are taking into account a sea-level rise from global warming. The Weyerhaeuser company is planting drought-resistant trees. The Dutch are raising their dikes.
Either this behavior is certifiably [...]
The Greenhouse Effect, Left, Right, and Center
By Donella Meadows
–September 28, 1989–
“High Cost of Greenhouse Hysteria” reads one recent headline. Another says “Greenhouse Effect Looks Like Just a Lot of Hot Air.” And a third: “Environmentalists, Not Pollution, are the Real Threat.”
The backlash has appeared. Once the greenhouse effect was popularized, it was sure to become politicized.
Folks who are unhappy with the state of the world anyway [...]
Dear Folks: September 24, 1989
Dear Folks, Two nights ago the edge of Hurricane Hugo brought us wild winds and tropical temperatures. Basil and I woke up about 2:30 and went outside to watch the trees bending in the wind. Heavy gusts whammed through the valley — we could hear each one sweeping toward us from a long way off, sounding like an oncoming express train. [...]
Who Needs Florida, Anyway? Scientists need to help us prevent climate change, not adapt to it
By Donella Meadows
–Summer 1989–
The urgency of climate change calls for leadership from some unusual quarters. Environmental author and columnist Dana Meadows comments here on the role scientists – a group generally not known for activism – need to play in averting global climate change. Her writing has been appearing regularly in IN CONTEXT, and she also writes a weekly column [...]
High Up Ozone Versus Low Down Ozone, and Outer Atmospheric Confusions
By Donella Meadows
–May 18, 1989–
A fat lady in apron and snow boots is out on her porch earnestly spraying an aerosol can out into space. The caption says, “Mrs. Alice Snood of East Icicle, Vermont, is doing what she can to get rid of the silly ozone layer. She says a global warming trend would be a darn good idear [...]
