The New Budgeting–Penny Wise, Pound Foolish
By Donella Meadows
–December 29, 1995–
I just came home from business in Europe, where I traveled on the slick new ICE trains, to find that Amtrak budget cuts are about to cancel the two daily passenger trains that connect my valley with the rest of the country.
The European rail network serves every city many times a day; it’s on time to [...]
Whose Woods These Are I Think I Know
By Donella Meadows
–October 26, 1995–
“In the administration of the forest reserves it must be clearly borne in mind that all land is to be devoted to its most productive use for the permanent good of the whole people, and not for the temporary benefit of individuals or companies.”
So declared Gifford Pinchot when he founded the U.S. Forest Service in 1905. [...]
What Is Happening to the National Lands?
By Donella Meadows
–October 12, 1995–
There’s a virulent movement in the West and now in the Congress to give federal lands “back” to the states — as if the states had ever owned them.
Of course the original owners were the Native Americans. In the West the Spanish took the lands, then the American people either bought or fought for them. Those [...]
Unserious and Serious Suggestions for Reclaiming Democracy
By Donella Meadows
–September 28, 1995–
Every week, every day, come news items that reveal the sorry state of our democracy. For instance:
– Because of a rider urged by timber companies, passed by Congress, and signed by Bill Clinton, an extra 2 million board feet of timber must now be cut in Vermont’s Green Mountain National Forest. (The present cutting rate is [...]
Gotta Watch That Congress Every Minute
By Donella Meadows
–September 21, 1995–
When there’s time for the press and the people to find out what’s happening in Washington, some of the worst ideas do get stopped. The commission to choose which national parks to sell was derailed in the House last week. The people heard about it and told their representatives that it’s just plain stupid to balance [...]
