Taxing What We Don’t Want, Instead of What We Want
By Donella Meadows
–January 14, 1993—-
In spite of the wisecracks we all like to make about government, we know that if we didn’t have one, we would slowly — or maybe not so slowly — devolve to the hapless condition of a Bosnia or Somalia. We need government. So we have to pay for it. So we have to tax something.
But [...]
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 [...]
Twenty Years of Destruction and Progress
By Donella Meadows
–December 5, 1991–
Twenty years ago I would have been writing this column on a manual typewriter. Today I’m writing it on a laptop computer that fits inside my briefcase with room to spare. The computing power of this little laptop would have occupied a space as large as my office 20 years ago.
I’ve been using the computer to [...]
Drift to Low Performance
By Donella Meadows
–August 29, 1991–
At least 1400 times last summer authorities closed U.S. ocean beaches or warned swimmers away from them because of pollution. There were 338 beach closings in California, 228 in New Jersey, 218 in Connecticut.
The states with the most closings weren’t necessarily the ones with the most polluted beaches. States have different beach policies. New York declared [...]
Grosscon Versus Defendus for the Third World
By Donella Meadows
–June 6, 1991–
Amulya Reddy, a soft-spoken, urbane professor at the Indian Institute of Science, calls his government’s energy policy GROSSCON — growth-oriented, supply-sided, consumption directed. According to the Oxford Dictionary, Reddy says, “gross” means “flagrant” and “con” means “confidence trick.” The Indian energy policy is not different from the policies of most other nations of the world. That [...]
