Jozsef Discovers America
By Donella Meadows
–October 1, 1987–
“How many telephone equipment there are in this house?” Jozsef asked on his second day in America, his second day in the West.
I was embarrassed to answer. Two weeks earlier I had been in Hungary at the home of one of Jozsef’s colleagues, another professor of economics at Budapest’s Karl Marx University. It was a gracious [...]
Incinerator Blues, Part 4: Why Not Recycling?
By Donella Meadows
–September 24, 1987–
Most everyone involved in the Great National Garbage Problem would agree on the following propositions:
Landfills are better (and more expensive) than open dumps; they reduce smell, rats, and pollution of air and surface water. But landfills take up space and pollute groundwater.
Mass-burn incinerators are better (and much more expensive) than landfills; they take less land and [...]
A Billion-Dollar Primer
By Donella Meadows
–April 23, 1987–
The President is requesting $6 billion for Star Wars. U.S. farmers received $23 billion in subsidies last year. Congress overrode the veto on the $88 billion highway plan.
All these billions of dollars whizzing about in the news are vitally important, I’m sure. As taxpayers and citizens we ought to keep our eyes on them. But personally, [...]
Rambo Still Rules the White House
By Donella Meadows
–April 2, 1987–
There was reason to hope that after the Iran-contra affair the Administration would deal with foreign policy in a manner a bit less swashbuckling. But its decision about IIASA last week, while a minor matter, just a small omen, suggests that the White House is still dominated by the Rambo mentality.
IIASA is the International Institute for [...]
What Happens When the Bank Fails
By Donella Meadows
–March 12, 1987–
About half the people I met in Oklahoma had personally experienced a bank failure over the past year or so. On Thursday, January 8, of the week I was there another bank went under, Security National Bank of Norman, Oklahoma.
Friday morning Security National reopened under new management. The TV news showed its customers calmly doing their [...]
