Markets Don’t Make Energy Policy, People Do
By Donella Meadows
–March 14, 1991–
George Bush’s National Energy Strategy is causing heads to shake in disbelief all over the world. It is a strategy for the 1950s, when we thought that energy supplies were infinite, that big cars made us better people, and that the environment was just a pretty scene out the rear window. Worst of all, the Strategy [...]
A New Energy Analysis, An Old Energy Policy
By Donella Meadows
–January 30, 1991–
The energy policy the nation has been waiting for — and, some would say, fighting for — is about to be unveiled by the Bush administration. It contains no surprises. It emphasizes supply more than efficiency. It calls for market mechanisms, not regulation or taxes. Oil, coal, and nuclear companies will find nothing in it to [...]
Four Not-So-Easy Things you can do to Save the Planet
By Donella Meadows
–June 14, 1990–
It’s wonderful, the burst of publications with lists of things we can do to save the planet. It’s great to see so much energy behind recycling, energy-efficient lightbulbs, and fundraisers for the rainforest. If we all did 50 simple things to save the planet, that would be a big help.
But it wouldn’t be enough. The planet [...]
Inactive Bush; Interactive Gorbachev
By Donella Meadows
–February 15, 1990–
There are maybe a dozen world leaders. There are several thousand leader-analysts, who tell us what the leaders are up to, what they’ll do next, and when they’ll fall. Mikhail Gorbachev continues to surprise them all.
Just as the analysts are predicting his downfall, Gorbachev stuns everyone by leaping out ahead of events — and getting away [...]
Is There Such a Thing as Too Much Glasnost?
By Donella Meadows
–December 28, 1989–
The outbreak of freedom in Eastern Europe can be traced directly to just one cause: glasnost, truth-telling. A new openness about the activities of government verified what every East Bloc citizen knew but could not say — that their governments were corrupt, inept, and intolerable. The truths, when fully revealed, were even worse than anyone suspected. [...]
