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Tuning in to NAFTA
By Donella Meadows
–September 29, 1993–
“I have to admit, I’ve tuned out the whole discussion about NAFTA,” said my neighbor, who is not in the habit of tuning out discussions. “It all seems so complicated.”
“Here’s a good introduction,” I said, handing her Ross Perot’s book Save Your Job, Save Our Country. She looked at me as if I’d gone crazy. “I [...]
First Regulate Sweatshops, Pirates, and Casinos, Then Open Trade
By Donella Meadows
–September 23, 1993–
What is it about NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement) that lines up such a wierd coalition as Jesse Jackson, Ross Perot, Pat Buchanan, and Greenpeace against it — and a wierder coalition of Bill Clinton, Bob Dole, the Mexican government, and the World Wildlife Fund for it?
It’s simple, the anti-NAFTA crowd would say. The [...]
Free Trade Can Work Against the Environment – Or For It
By Donella Meadows
–September 16, 1993–
Environmentalists who worry about NAFTA and other trade agreements like to tell the tuna-dolphin story — though the moral of that story is far from clear.
Schools of yellowfin tuna off the Pacific coast often swim below groups of dolphin. Fishermen look for the dolphin to find the tuna. With their powerful purse-seine nets, they used to [...]
Why We Shouldn’t Ask Economists About NAFTA
By Donella Meadows
–September 9, 1993–
More than biotechnology or weapons technology, more than any other change in our rapidly changing world, the globalization of the economy is affecting everyone on the planet, and not for the better. If we value democracy, the environment, or our jobs, we need to keep an eye not only on the North American Free Trade Agrement [...]
How the Ozone Story Became a Volcano Story
By Donella Meadows
–September 1, 1993–
F. Sherwood Rowland was surprised by all the volcano questions. As a distinguished atmospheric chemist, the discoverer of the cause of the ozone hole, he gives regular public presentations on how the ozone layer works and why it is being depleted. Recently his audiences have been asking, sometimes with confusion, sometimes with hostility: Don’t volcanoes cause [...]
