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Mad About Ads
By Donella Meadows
–November 26, 1998–
This month the Center for a New American Dream (www.newdream.org) is running an e-mail discussion about commercialism in our lives. I have never seen such a hopping-mad bunch of messages. Rather than persuading us, the advertising industry seems to be infuriating us.
Here are a few snippets:
“What annoys me most is billboard advertising, which takes away common [...]
Y2K and the Great Hawaiian Toilet Paper Panic
By Donella Meadows
–November 19, 1998–
I keep running into scary Y2K discussions. I suppose that’s because they’re happening more frequently and will continue to do so right up to December 31, 1999, when the year 2000 (Y2K) computer bug will kick in and End The World As We Know It.
That’s what some people say it will do. Others say, “come off [...]
Thomas Jefferson and Donella Meadows, Slave-Owners
By Donella Meadows
–November 12, 1998–
I suppose you’ve heard the news about Thomas Jefferson. DNA tests were just conducted on one of his descendants (actually one of his uncle’s descendants) and on a descendant of a son of Sally Hemings, one of Jefferson’s slaves. The tests say there’s about a 99 percent probability that Tom fathered Sally’s son.
To which many African-Americans [...]
Fred and Pat Have Cookies and Milk
By Donella Meadows
–November 4, 1998–
The famous candidacy of Fred Tuttle for U.S. Senate may have begun as a joke, but it ended as an enlightening contrast to politics as usual.
In case you live far from Vermont and never ran into Fred on CSPAN, “Good Morning America,” or the “Tonight” show, he is a 79-year-old retired dairy farmer who has survived [...]
Just a Few Simple Questions for the Politicians
By Donella Meadows
–October 29, 1998–
In the din of canned political phrases and stump speeches and angry ads, I keep waiting for some small part of the democratic discourse to address the issues I care about. I keep waiting for some politician to give even slightly honest-sounding answers to the questions I most want to ask.
Questions such as:
Do you really believe [...]
