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Rio Plus Five and Going Backward
By Donella Meadows
–June 19, 1997–
Five years ago the leaders of 120 nations assembled at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro and signed a list of environmental pledges called Agenda 21. Next week (June 23-27) the U.N. General Assembly will hold a special “Rio Plus Five” session to check their progress.
There has been no progress.
A UNEP report prepared for the [...]
Cut Off From Global Markets, Cuba Invents a New Agriculture
By Donella Meadows
–June 12, 1997–
It’s hard to believe anything we hear about Cuba. Some people, especially those in official positions, want us to believe that Cuba does no right, others that it does no wrong. I’m hearing fascinating stories from folks who have visited there, folks who are biased too in various ways — who isn’t? If even half of [...]
The Real Costs of Growth in Oregon
By Donella Meadows
–June 5, 1997–
The myth persists. Growth is good for us. Development will bring in more tax money. The only way to get our property taxes down is to bring more people and houses and businesses to town.
If you’re one of the many who still believe this, look around at cities and towns more populous or more rapidly growing [...]
How Much Is Nature Worth? Who Says? Who Cares?
By Donella Meadows
–May 22, 1997–
Well, folks, now we know. Nature is worth $33 trillion dollars a year. That’s a medium estimate. The real value could be as low as $16 trillion or as high as $54 trillion.
To put those numbers in perspective, the value of the entire output of the world economy each year is $18 trillion. That comes to [...]
Welfare for Politicians Could Help the Welfare of the Rest of Us
By Donella Meadows
–May 20, 1997–
My dear fellow Americans,
A recent New York Times/CBS poll says that 89 percent of us think our political campaign system should be fundamentally changed. Just eight percent of us think it needs only minor tinkering. (The option “no change, our campaigns work splendidly” was not even offered as a choice.)
We’re not dummies.
According to the poll 68 [...]
