Seattle Citizens Define Their Own Dow-Jones Average
By Donella Meadows
–May 20, 1993–
Last June an unlikely bunch of people got together in Seattle — a Boeing executive, an Episcopal priest, a city councilman, citizen activists for everything from the environment to minority rights, a high school teacher, a union representative, a local television personality, and about 100 more. They called themselves the Sustainable Seattle Civic Panel. Sustainability for [...]
We Need Change, In Spite of the Upset
By Donella Meadows
–May 13, 1993–
A friend of mine has a favorite saying: “Change is upset.” You can see what she means by watching Washington these days. The people voted for change. Bill Clinton is trying to produce it. He’s going in the directions favored by popular fussbudget Ross Perot — cut the deficit, create jobs, reduce the power of special [...]
Health Care – Why Not the Best?
By Donella Meadows
–May 6, 1993–
In an average year one dollar out of every ten I bring home goes for health insurance. My premium went up 10 percent in January and another 19 percent this week. On top of that I pay the first $1000 plus half of the next $4000 for any actual health care. In spite of its enormous [...]
Saving the Planet Starts with Doing Your Homework
By Donella Meadows
–April 29, 1993–
Kids who want to do something to help the environment get a lot of advice from the media, much of it wrong.
For example, in a Wall Street Journal column Jonathan Adler of the Competitive Enterprise Institute rightfully complains about a Florida TV program that warns children against ozone-destroying chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in spray cans and in those [...]
Endangered Species, Endangered Ecosystems, Endangered Humanity
By Donella Meadows
–April 22, 1993–
No one actively wants to cause the extinction of a species. Something within us shudders at the enormity of snuffing out forever a unique form of life. Most of us would be ashamed if we knowingly crushed butterflies, bulldozed wildflowers, starved bears. As with other shameful acts, however, some of us, when we’re in the right [...]
