Thomas Jefferson and Donella Meadows, Slave-Owners
By Donella Meadows
–November 12, 1998–
I suppose you’ve heard the news about Thomas Jefferson. DNA tests were just conducted on one of his descendants (actually one of his uncle’s descendants) and on a descendant of a son of Sally Hemings, one of Jefferson’s slaves. The tests say there’s about a 99 percent probability that Tom fathered Sally’s son.
To which many African-Americans [...]
Fred and Pat Have Cookies and Milk
By Donella Meadows
–November 4, 1998–
The famous candidacy of Fred Tuttle for U.S. Senate may have begun as a joke, but it ended as an enlightening contrast to politics as usual.
In case you live far from Vermont and never ran into Fred on CSPAN, “Good Morning America,” or the “Tonight” show, he is a 79-year-old retired dairy farmer who has survived [...]
Just a Few Simple Questions for the Politicians
By Donella Meadows
–October 29, 1998–
In the din of canned political phrases and stump speeches and angry ads, I keep waiting for some small part of the democratic discourse to address the issues I care about. I keep waiting for some politician to give even slightly honest-sounding answers to the questions I most want to ask.
Questions such as:
Do you really believe [...]
Michael Moore’s Revolution — Everybody Vote
By Donella Meadows
–October 22, 1998–
Michael Moore’s election message is bouncing all over the Internet. “OK, I’ve had it,” says Moore, the maker of the film “Roger and Me” and the show “TV Nation.” “I propose a legal act of civil disobedience.”
Moore says he is not a Democrat and did not vote for Bill Clinton in ‘96. But he is infuriated [...]
Indicators and Information Systems for Sustainable Development
By Donella Meadows~
Indicators are natural, everywhere, part of everyone’s life. Intuitively we all use indicators to monitor complex systems we need to care about or control. We have many words for indicator – sign, system, omen, signal, tip, clue, grade, rank, data, pointer, dial, warning light, instrument, measurement. Indicators are a necessary part of the stream of information we use [...]
