Rewriting the Story of the Ant and the Grasshopper
by Donella Meadows
— July 1, 1999 —
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper plays his fiddle and dances the summer away. Come winter the ant is warm and fed. The grasshopper dies in the cold.
This tale is attributed to Aesop, a Greek ex-slave who lived around 600 B.C. [...]
The Great North American Carbon Sink – Maybe
by Donella Meadows
— April 29, 1999 —
“Aha! We knew it!” a number of conservative columnists have been crowing lately. “Greenhouse, schmeenhouse, go right on driving those sports utility vehicles.”
The cause of their excitement is an article published in Science magazine, one of the most prestigious places a scientific article can be published, claiming that the North American continent is a [...]
A Battle Not Of Snippets But Of Moral Mindsets
by Donella Meadows
— February 11, 1999 —
For a whole year I steered clear of Monica madness. I knew what was happening, of course — who didn’t? But I watched no broadcasts, read no articles, shut my ears, covered my eyes. Then on the final Saturday I got hooked by the battle of the snippets.
Monica herself pulled me in, as the [...]
Fred and Pat Have Cookies and Milk
By Donella Meadows
–November 4, 1998–
The famous candidacy of Fred Tuttle for U.S. Senate may have begun as a joke, but it ended as an enlightening contrast to politics as usual.
In case you live far from Vermont and never ran into Fred on CSPAN, “Good Morning America,” or the “Tonight” show, he is a 79-year-old retired dairy farmer who has survived [...]
Just a Few Simple Questions for the Politicians
By Donella Meadows
–October 29, 1998–
In the din of canned political phrases and stump speeches and angry ads, I keep waiting for some small part of the democratic discourse to address the issues I care about. I keep waiting for some politician to give even slightly honest-sounding answers to the questions I most want to ask.
Questions such as:
Do you really believe [...]
