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The Story of an Incinerator — So Far
By Donella Meadows
–March 1, 1990–
Consider the following true story the next time someone tells you a trash-burning incinerator is the answer to your community’s solid waste problem.
October 1982 — Project Manager Ted Siegler tells the 25 towns in the New Hampshire Vermont Solid Waste District that they can dispose of their garbage with a trash-to-energy incinerator for a cost of [...]
Greenhouse Extremists — On Both Sides
By Donella Meadows
–February 22, 1990–
We don’t want to side with extremists on either side, says George Bush in defense of his wimpy stand on the greenhouse effect.
He is, of course, doing just that. He is siding with the extremists who believe there may not BE a greenhouse effect; that if there is one, we have plenty of time to act; [...]
Inactive Bush; Interactive Gorbachev
By Donella Meadows
–February 15, 1990–
There are maybe a dozen world leaders. There are several thousand leader-analysts, who tell us what the leaders are up to, what they’ll do next, and when they’ll fall. Mikhail Gorbachev continues to surprise them all.
Just as the analysts are predicting his downfall, Gorbachev stuns everyone by leaping out ahead of events — and getting away [...]
The Great Disposable Diaper Debate
By Donella Meadows
–February 8, 1990–
What’s an environmentally conscious parent to do? To save the earth she or he forswears disposable diapers, finds a diaper service or does a lot of laundry, and feels righteous. Then along comes the shocking news that reusable diapers might be as bad for the environment as disposables.
I kid you not. When the idea first surfaced [...]
Legalization or Prohibition: That is not the Question
By Donella Meadows
–February 1, 1990–
An addict, they say, is a person who does the same stupid thing over and over, hoping for a different result.
By that definition our nation is addicted to its own drug policy — or, to be more exact, policies. We have two, legalization and prohibition. For reasons not of logic but of history, alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, [...]
