Where Have all the Frogs and Toads Gone?
By Donella Meadows
–December 10, 1998–
“Dear Prof. Meadows, please tell us about the frogs.”
That was the complete message that bounced in to me from cyberspace. I stared at it and sighed. I don’t want to tell about the frogs. I don’t even want to think about the frogs. The story is so complex and uncertain and sad.
But, you know, there may [...]
The World’s Billionaires and the Game of Giving
By Donella Meadows
–December 3, 1998–
The combined wealth of the world’s three richest people is greater than the total income of the 48 poorest nations.The 84 richest people own assets worth more than the total annual production (GDP) of all 1.2 billion Chinese.
Together the world’s 225 billionaires are worth $1 trillion, equal to the annual incomes of just under half (2.7 [...]
Mad About Ads
By Donella Meadows
–November 26, 1998–
This month the Center for a New American Dream (www.newdream.org) is running an e-mail discussion about commercialism in our lives. I have never seen such a hopping-mad bunch of messages. Rather than persuading us, the advertising industry seems to be infuriating us.
Here are a few snippets:
“What annoys me most is billboard advertising, which takes away common [...]
Y2K and the Great Hawaiian Toilet Paper Panic
By Donella Meadows
–November 19, 1998–
I keep running into scary Y2K discussions. I suppose that’s because they’re happening more frequently and will continue to do so right up to December 31, 1999, when the year 2000 (Y2K) computer bug will kick in and End The World As We Know It.
That’s what some people say it will do. Others say, “come off [...]
Dear Folks: November 18, 1998
Hi Dear Folks! I’m sitting at Logan airport, waiting to board Swissair for Zurich and my friend Joan’s house and a Balaton steering committee meeting. The House impeachment hearings are playing on TVs all over the airport — they’re still going at 5:30 pm, and I heard them kick off at 10 this morning as I drove into Dartmouth. My gosh, [...]
