Who Has a Population Problem?
By Donella Meadows
–September 8, 1994–
There’s a general belief in this country that the global population problem exists Over There somewhere, or maybe Down South of our border. But certainly not here.
If we could see ourselves as the other 95.5 percent of the world sees us, we’d know that nothing could be farther from the truth.
U.S. family size is going up, [...]
L.A.–A Joke, A Basket Case, or a Leader Toward Sustainability?
By Donella Meadows
–March 17, 1994–
It will come as no surprise to the people of Southern California that L.A.-bashing is a favorite sport of anyone who lives north of Santa Barbara or east of the San Bernardino Mountains. We non-Angelenos love L.A. jokes. We call the place Lalaland. Here in the Northeast, even under three feet of snow, even when it’s [...]
Words for a Sustainable World
By Donella Meadows
–January 6, 1994–
Back in the 1970s when my feminist friends said they felt excluded by the word “man” — as in “the future of man” — I thought they were making a fuss over nothing.
But it was easy enough to say “people” or “humanity” instead of “man,” so I did, and gradually my gender-deafness turned into sensitivity. I [...]
Producing like there is a tomorrow: Patagonia mixes low growth with high ideals
By Donella Meadows
–Winter 1993–
There’s an astonishing page in the latest Patagonia sports clothing catalog, written by Yvon Chouinard, president of Patagonia, Inc. It tells why he’s decided that his company should stop growing.
“Last fall,” he says, “we underwent an environmental audit to investigate the impact of the clothing we make…. To no one’s surprise the news is bad. Everything we [...]
Will the Clean Air Act Stop Growth, or Will Growth Stop the Clean Air Act
By Donella Meadows
–April 17, 1992–
“We will not, given the current level of science, technology and the economy, … do something that could have serious effects on growth.”
A high official of the Bush administration made that statement a few weeks ago to explain why the White House opposes measures to reduce air pollution, acid rain, and greenhouse gas emissions. The policy [...]
