Tough Planet or Fragile Planet?
By Donella Meadows
–August 16, 1990–
“Gaia, as I see her, is no doting mother tolerant of misdemeanors, nor is she some fragile and delicate damsel in danger from brutal mankind. She is stern and tough, always keeping the world warm and comfortable for those who obey the rules, but ruthless in her destruction of those who transgress,” says James Lovelock, originator [...]
A Rohschach Test in the Middle East
By Donella Meadows
–August 9, 1990–
Iraq’s aggression in the Middle East has provided a big, oily Rohrschach spot, in which we can all read the messages already ingrained in our various psyches and self-interests.
The oil companies see a perfect opportunity not only to raise prices but to insist again that the national interest requires them to drill off our shores and [...]
The ABCs of the S&Ls
By Donella Meadows
–August 2, 1990–
If five hundred billion dollars had been robbed from us Jesse James style, we would have understood what happened. We would have risen up in outrage. We would have put the criminals in jail and learned some lessons so it couldn’t happen again.
But the heist of the savings and loans associations took place without guns, without [...]
A Letter to a Very Smart Man
By Donella Meadows
–July 27, 1990–
Dear John Sununu,
I know how smart you are. I know about your engineering degree, and I watched you perform as my governor all those years before you went to the White House. I’ve seen your mind snap up information, quick as a trap. Therefore I was surprised the other day when you made a statement unworthy [...]
Dear Folks: July 22, 1990
Dear Folks, Well, I was too optimistic when I wrote last month. The slaughter isn’t over at all.
Don has shot three raccoons now, and we’re still losing chickens. The loss rate has gone down, because most of the tree-sitting hens have been wiped out. So far the clever masked bandits haven’t figured out how to get into the cages of the [...]
