Dear Folks: September 23, 1995
Dear Folks, Wow! So much to tell you!
It’s Saturday morning, the day of the fall equinox. I’m alone in the house. Chrissie, Scot, and Marcia have gone off to sewing-machine school. As a wedding present Chrissie got a professional-model, turbo-charged Bernina, which, she tells us, can almost pick out the pattern, cut out the dress, and iron it when it’s [...]
Gotta Watch That Congress Every Minute
By Donella Meadows
–September 21, 1995–
When there’s time for the press and the people to find out what’s happening in Washington, some of the worst ideas do get stopped. The commission to choose which national parks to sell was derailed in the House last week. The people heard about it and told their representatives that it’s just plain stupid to balance [...]
There’s Only One Campaign Issue
By Donella Meadows
— September 14, 1995–
Colin Powell and Newt Gingrich are peddling books. Bill Clinton is running TV ads. Presidential candidates are popping up at senior centers all over New Hampshire. Like Christmas decorations immediately after Halloween, the ‘96 political campaign has started way too soon. We aren’t ready to buy yet or even browse, but the political marketers are [...]
Mop-and-Bucket Solutions Keep Us Forever Cleaning Up
By Donella Meadows
— August 31, 1995–
David Orr, professor of Environmental Studies at Oberlin College, likes to tell the story of the entrance exam for the insane asylum.
Candidates are led into a cement-lined room with a row of faucets on one wall, fully open, gushing water. Leaning against the opposite wall are dozens of buckets and mops.
The insane run frantically for [...]
The Balkans Are Driven by Their Leaders, Not Their History
By Donella Meadows
–August 24, 1995–
A friend who is helping some Bosnian refugees knew I had spent time in what was once Yugoslavia, so she asked me to explain the turmoil there. We got out the map, and I started on the history of empires sweeping back and forth, leaving alphabets, converts, and rancor behind them. To explain atrocity in the [...]
