Left and Right and Power
By Donella Meadows
–September 4, 1997–
Whenever opinionated folks in our still somewhat free-speech democracy get to sounding off, whatever issue they sound off about, they always line up on the same two sides.
One side wants to defend property rights, ban abortion, make the U.N. go away, keep health care out of the grip of government, fight crime with cops and prisons. [...]
Where Does News Stop and Gossip Begin?
By Donella Meadows
–August 29, 1997–
A newspaper near and dear to me recently ran a story about the accidental death of a 17-year-old. At the end was a sentence informing us that the young man once had a run-in with the law, unrelated to the tragic circumstances of his death.
His relatives and friends pelted the paper with letters asking why it [...]
Dear Folks: August 24,1997
Dear Folks, I think of May as the month of most stellar beauty around here. October is always a knockout, of course. I love the crystalline splendor of February. But I keep forgetting about August — high summer, when the cornucopia of the garden runs over — and really, that’s not fair. This is one of the most gorgeous months of [...]
The Black Helicopters are Coming!
By Donella Meadows
–August 21, 1997–
The folks who warn us about the black helicopters of the United Nations swooping down and taking over the world might maybe be a bit right, sort of.
What they are really worried about, I assume, is secret, inaccessible power — a few people meeting in luxurious rooms in big cities, planning the future of everyone, and [...]
Co-Housing–Somewhere Between Neighborhood and Commune
By Donella Meadows
–August 14, 1997–
“So you’re planning a commune,” my friends say.
“No, co-housing,” I reply, and their faces show that I haven’t clarified the matter. Co-housing is not a household word. But judging from the interest that arises when I explain it, I predict it will be.
If there were a scale of community “togetherness,” it would go something like this [...]
