Keeping Everyone Warm
By Donella Meadows
–December 26, 1996–
On the day before Christmas a local newspaper story told, as many newspaper stories do, of a case of human suffering induced by government stupidity. The sufferers in this case are Sid and Ruth Lowry of Marshfield, Vermont. The stupidity is in Vermont’s fuel assistance program.
It seems the Lowrys have survived decades of hard Vermont winters [...]
Dear Folks: December 22, 1996
Dear Folks, It’s the day after the solstice. The sun has turned the corner and is heading back our direction. (OK, OK, I know it’s really the earth that has turned the corner and is beginning to tip its northern hemisphere back toward the sun — but that’s not how it looks or feels, is it?) We won’t notice any difference [...]
The Least of These Our Brethren
By Donella Meadows
–December 19, 1996–
It’s Christmastime, the one time of the year in this increasingly Scroogey land, when one is allowed to advocate generosity to the poor. I’m not sure where the idea of year-round generosity went. It’s well entrenched in the Bible, especially, of course, in the teachings of Jesus, whose birthday we are allegedly celebrating. He hung out [...]
The Laws of the Earth and the Laws of Economics
By Donella Meadows
–December 12, 1996–
The first commandment of economics is: grow. Grow forever. Companies must get bigger. National economies need to swell by a certain percent each year. People should want more, make more, earn more, spend more, ever more.
The first commandment of the Earth is: enough. Just so much and no more. Just so much soil. Just so much [...]
Foreign Policy on the Scale of a Neighborhood
By Donella Meadows
–December 5, 1996–
Suppose you lived in a diverse neighborhood — rich folks, poor folks, people of all kinds and colors, most of them eager to keep the peace and do business together. But no neighborhood is perfect, and yours is plagued by a youth gang or two and some drug runners and a couple of well-armed, dangerous thugs.
Suppose [...]
