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Definition of Sustainability
By Donella Meadows~
For some months I have owed an answer to one of you, who asked for a definition of the word I probably use more often here than any other — sustainability. It has become an international jargon word, with about as many meanings as there are people who use it. Those of us who have talked about sustainability [...]
Envisioning a Sustainable World
By Donella Meadows~
Written for the Third Biennial Meeting of the International Society for Ecological Economics, October 24-28, 1994, San Jose, Costa Rica1
Key Words
vision, sustainability, hunger, policy
Abstract
Vision is the most vital step in the policy process. If we don’t know where we want to go, it makes little difference that we make great progress. Yet vision is not only missing almost [...]
The Best City In The World? Making a solid case for better urban planning
By Donella Meadows
–Fall 1994–
Residents of Curitiba, Brazil, think they live in the best city in the world, and a lot of outsiders agree. Curitiba has 17 new parks, 90 miles of bike paths, trees everywhere, and traffic and garbage systems that officials from other cities come to study. Curitiba’s mayor for 12 years, Jaime Lerner, has a 92 percent approval [...]
Tools for the Transition to Sustainability
Chapter 8 of Limits to Growth: The 30-Year Update (Chelsea Green Publishing, 2004)
By Donella Meadows, Jorgen Randers, and Dennis Meadows
We must be careful not to succumb to despair, for there is still the odd glimmer of hope.
-Edouard Saouma, 1993
Can we move nations and people in the direction of sustainability? Such a move would be a modification of society comparable in scale [...]
BGH – Not The Only Choice
Comparing the full effects of chemically-generated increases in milk production — with a non-chemical alternative
By Donella Meadows
–Spring 1994–
Now that the Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of bioengineered bovine growth hormone (bGH), dairy farmers – and consumers – have some crucial decisions to make.
The risks and possible payoffs of the bGH decision are laid out in detail in a [...]
