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Veggie Libel Suits are Meant to Slapp Free Speech
By Donella Meadows
–January 22, 1998–
The label “veggie libel law” makes the whole affair sound silly. But Oprah Winfrey is being sued for insulting beef, not beans. And the case is not trivial. If Oprah loses, we all lose some free speech and food safety protections.
The proper term is “agricultural disparagement laws.” Thirteen states have already adopted such laws; 14 more, [...]
The Asian Meltdown and the Myth of Ascendant Capitalism
By Donella Meadows
–January 15, 1998–
The Washington Post quotes a portfolio manager for Asian mutual funds: “We do not get a very good grade for spotting Asia’s problem.” Michael Sivy, chief investment strategist at Money magazine, says, “Everyone is genuinely surprised by the decline.” He’s the one who wrote an article titled: “How to Cash in on the Asia Boom,” which [...]
Meeting the Kyoto Standards — Piece of Cake
By Donella Meadows
–January 8, 1998–
The Kyoto climate conference is over, the holidays are over, it’s the morning after. Our government, with other governments, has promised to cut back greenhouse gas emissions. The promises, ours and theirs, are far too weak to stabilize the atmosphere. But they do pledge us to a historic turnaround, from steady increases to slight decreases in [...]
You Are Not Your Square Footage
By Donella Meadows
–January 1, 1998–
Bill Gates’s new mansion comprises 20,000 square feet of living space, with another 20,000 for guest house, sports courts, gardens and garage.
My brother just built a new house, a bed & breakfast with a floor area of 5000 square feet.
The average American house in the 1940s had an area of 1200 square feet; now it’s more [...]
A Computer Model Tests Our Red, Green or Blue-Colored Glasses
By Donella Meadows
–December 25, 1997–
There’s a new computer model of the long-term future of the world that does something hardly any model — computer or mental — ever does. It explores the fact that we all see the world through biases.. (Yes, even you and, hard to believe, even me.)
The model is called TARGETS. It was put together by researchers [...]
