All Global Citizens columns are licensed under a Creative Commons License. DMI encourages you to share this content by following these easy steps.
Advice from Abroad on Restructuring Electricity
By Donella Meadows
–September 17, 1998–
The U.S. is not the only country overhauling the way electricity is owned and sold. England, Hungary, India, Brazil and other nations are well advanced in deregulating their power markets — if doing so can be considered an advance.
I’m just back from an international meeting where I heard reports from these places. They were mainly horror [...]
Chemical Company Arguments That Don’t Quite Connect
By Donella Meadows
–September 10, 1998–
Public relations people have a funny way of arguing. You say something, and they answer with a change of subject. It’s like a tennis game in which you hit a ball over the net and your opponent hits a different ball back. Confusing. Unfair. Not much of a game.
For example, last winter I wrote a column [...]
We Can All Hardly Wait for Electricity Deregulation
By Donella Meadows
–September 3, 1998–
This week 18 New England power plants were sold to Pacific Gas & Electric of San Francisco. The small notice on page A4 of the paper, says, “The sale solidifies [PG&E’s] position as a major player in the region’s newly deregulated power industry.”
You jumped up and down for joy, right?
This week four candidates for New Hampshire [...]
The Environmental Legend and the Real Tongass
By Donella Meadows
–August 27, 1998–
There’s such a difference between knowing something in your head and experiencing it with your whole self.
I’ve known about the Tongass National Forest for years. To anyone who follows environmental news, it’s legendary. America’s last temperate rainforest. Eagles and wolves and grizzlies. Massive clearcuts, crooked deals with pulp companies. The federal forest that loses more taxpayer [...]
Sending Air Conditioners to Texas, and Other Vicious Cycles
By Donella Meadows
–August 13, 1998–
When President Clinton announced that he was sending $100 million so Texans suffering from the heat could buy air conditioners, one of my Dartmouth colleagues turned the news into a classroom quiz. What’s wrong with this policy?
It was an environmental studies class, so I hope the students got it right. A good answer would have been [...]
