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A Mixed Message from Bush on Energy
By Donella Meadows
–February 2, 1989–
Environmentalists, waiting hopefully to see whether George Bush is indeed one of them, got a puzzling mixed message this week.
Bush’s Secretary of State James Baker, in a rousing speech to delegates from 40 nations, said that the world cannot wait for solid evidence before acting on the greenhouse problem. The U.S. and the world must focus [...]
Controlling Growth by Controlling Attractiveness
By Donella Meadows
–January 26, 1989–
In Woodstock, Vermont, everyone’s mad about a highway. In other places the issue is a sewer system or a school. The real issue, of course, is growth. According to Jay Forrester’s Attractiveness Principle (Forrester is a professor of systems analysis at MIT) there’s only one way to control growth — control attractiveness.
It’s hard to imagine a [...]
Waking up from Eight Years of Illusion
By Donella Meadows
–January 19, 1989–
“If you let me write $200 billion a year in hot checks, I’ll give you an illusion of prosperity too,” said Lloyd Bentsen in last fall’s campaign. The question is what the nation will discover, when the illusion has passed and the real economic situation is reckoned. The time for that reckoning seems to be now.
Though [...]
The Disintegration of the Insurance System
By Donella Meadows
–January 12, 1989–
“Dear Member Insured:” said the letter from my health insurance company, “A year ago we wrote that rising medical costs and Plan usage meant serious rate increases. Unfortunately, the picture has not changed.”
“Yet you, along with the majority of our insureds, have kept your health care expenses to a minimum. Therefore, we have been able to [...]
Two Letters Across a Gulf
By Donella Meadows
–January 5, 1988–
“Dear Mrs. Meadows,
“Are you one of the people who really believe what you write, or are you one of those who are trying to dupe the public?
“Fortunately, it is no secret that the media IS biased and IS (to use the word) LIBERAL. Fortunately also, “grassroots” America hasn’t bought the bill of goods that you all [...]
