Dear Folks: February 21, 1999
Dear Folks,
My mom complained that I used two unfamilar words in my last letter, so I just looked back to see what they were. I guess “entropy” and “Enneagram” are the most likely candidates. Sorry about that. Let me explain.
Entropy is a word physicists use to refer to the tendency of the universe to fall into disorder. If you pour [...]
Sprawl by Any Other Name Is Still Out of Control
by Donella Meadows
— February 18, 1999 —
This time around the hot term is “sprawl.” During previous outbreaks of concern about America’s spreading cities it was “strip development” or “slurbs” or simply “the growth problem.”
Whatever we call it, we worry about it toward the end of every economic boom and try to stimulate it again during every recession. We try to [...]
Dear Folks: April 26, 1998
Dear Folks,
Such a difference a month makes in New England in April! Especially this April, which has been as warm and sunny and sweet as any I can remember.
Because of the lovely weather, we’re two weeks ahead of schedule. Boy, does THAT ever feel good — and rare in our hectic spring! Stephen and Kerry have their whole two acre [...]
Is a Bioengineered Potato Organic?
By Donella Meadows
–July 31, 1997–
It’s tempting for someone who has grown some carrots any old way to slap the label “organic” on them and get a higher price. Whenever there’s real value around, someone will come up with a counterfeit.
So farmers who raise their vegetables with the care that the word “organic” implies have been working on certification programs with [...]
From Dump to Garden: Burlington’s Intervale
By Donella Meadows
–July 24, 1997–
The Intervale, the green floodplain where the Winooski River winds through Burlington, Vermont, was once the site of flourishing farms. Green Mountain Boy Ethan Allen had a homestead there, and long before him the Abenaki Indians cultivated the fertile soil. But as the city grew, the valley degenerated into a weedy urban wasteland, literally on the [...]
