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What Is Biodiversity and Why Should We Care?
By Donella Meadows
–March 9, 1989–
Most of us have grasped the idea that there’s a hole in the sky over the South Pole that could give us skin cancer. We are beginning to understand that a global warming could inundate Miami Beach and make New York even more unbearable in summer. There is another environmental problem, however, that doesn’t have a [...]
Freedom of Speech, up to a Point
By Donella Meadows
–March 2, 1989–
Our endless public discussion of the awful Rushdie affair would be more useful if we’d all admit we have something in common with the murderous mullahs. Not that we would issue death sentences against those whose writings anger us. But most of us can readily identify some person or group we would silence, if we could, [...]
Hiding the Symptoms, Maintaining the Sales
By Donella Meadows
–February 23, 1989–
Lo, the wonder-makers of modern science now bring you biodegradable plastics! Are your roadsides littered, your beaches cluttered, your wild creatures strangled, your dumps filled up with the previous wonders of modern science, namely non-biodegradable plastics? Don’t worry about a thing, folks.
Look, we just throw a little UV-sensitive copolymer into the polystyrene. Or we mix 4 [...]
To Save the Environment Start by Saving Landsat
By Donella Meadows
–February 16, 1989–
Over the next decade the world will critically need an eye on itself. We will need to keep track of greenhouse warming, forest damage from acid rain, the extent of deserts and tropical deforestation. We can deal with global environmental problems only if we have accurate information about whether and where those problems exist.
The good news [...]
The People Should Do It, the Government Should Do It
By Donella Meadows
–February 9, 1989–
“I want my government to tell me what to do when it comes to recycling trash, and I want them to make it easy.
“I want my government to appropriate money to solar energy research instead of things like star wars.
“I want my government to tax me heavily if I choose to have more than two children.
“If [...]
