What Would Happen If We Went Beyond Partisan Politics?
By Donella Meadows
–June 29, 1995–
Suppose we all woke up one fine morning and decided, as a nation, to solve our problems instead of beating each other up over them. Suppose we quit twisting ourselves into knots trying to put all blame on one party and all credit on the other. What if we chose instead to move forward together?
Right, I [...]
George Washington and I Are Subjects of Groundless Rumors
By Donella Meadows
–June 22, 2012–
I’m using the space of a public column here to right a personal wrong, but bear with me. I also want to illustrate a common human quirk and work up to a vital lesson.
In the preface of his new book A Moment on the Earth, Gregg Easterbrook mentions a book I co-authored more than 20 years [...]
Dear Folks: June 19, 1995
Dear Folks,
WE’RE GETTING A PUPPY!!!
I’m so excited you’d think I was 8 years old! It isn’t often that we get a new puppy — it’s been 11 years since I brought home the small golden butterball we named Basil.
Now Basil is slowing down so much that he can snore peacefully on the back porch while a raccoon scampers freely over [...]
The Song of June in the Country (With a Lesson in Ecology)
By Donella Meadows
–June 15, 1995–
The slugs ate the sprouting zinnias right down to the ground.
So we put nine ducklings into the garden to eat the slugs.
The ducklings ate the slugs and then they ate the spinach and trampled the peas. So we moved six ducklings down to the pond and left just three to patrol slugs.
The raccoon circled the garden [...]
Don’t Worry, Be Happy, The Environment is in Great Shape
By Donella Meadows
–June 8, 1995–
I have before me four reviews of Gregg Easterbrook’s trendy book about the environment (A Moment on the Earth: The Coming Age of Environmental Optimism). All the reviews are written by scientists whom I know and respect, and all of them are scathing. The reviewers are more than negative; they’re frustrated, because it isn’t possible to [...]
