Donella (Dana) Meadows inspired countless individuals with her pioneering work in systems thinking, her strong voice in support of a just and sustainable world, and her undefeatable optimism. Her ideas and writing remain as influential today as ever. The Global Citizens blog is an ever-growing collection of reports, reflections, commentaries, thoughts, and stories by people striving to fulfill Dana's vision of a world that aligns environmental, social, and economic systems. Read on to learn more about this vision and what it means at all scales.

New Year’s Resolutions for the Environment

Posted by Kindle Loomis, Published: January 2nd, 2013

The following piece was written by Donella Meadows and published December 29, 1988. Twenty-four years later, her simple, practical suggestions for what we as individuals can do to contribute to the health of our planet still ring true. The year 2012 was marked as a year of unprecedented environmental disasters, but we can all work to make 2013 the year [...]

Let’s Take Back Christmas: Donella Meadows on the Holiday Season

Posted by Kindle Loomis, Published: December 14th, 2012

Donella Meadows enjoyed many of the same things during the holidays that so many of us look forward to–time with family and loved ones, good music and good company, giving and sharing, warmth and light. As she wrote to her friends in December 1996, “I’m looking forward to it, the slowdown, the quietness.  I light white candles and play beautiful [...]

Vermont’s New Economy Conference

Posted by Kindle Loomis, Published: December 4th, 2012

By Sarah Parkinson

Join the New Economy discussion this Friday in Montpelier. We all want vibrant, resilient economies that support our communities, but it’s becoming clear that our current economic system can’t deliver all that. Prices are unstable, resources are exploited, negative externalities aren’t factored into costs, and profits are shared very unevenly. There are alternatives. Our economies can be better, healthier, and stronger. They [...]

Do the Math Tour: We Are Greater Than Fossil Fuels

Posted by Kindle Loomis, Published: November 29th, 2012

By Sarah Parkinson

2,500 people came to Boston to hear Bill McKibben and Naomi Klein speak (Image credit: 350.org) If Bill McKibben ever gets tired of the author/activist life, he should consider becoming a math teacher. I’ve certainly never seen anyone else create as much interest as he has in three simple integers. This past July, McKibben introduced the world to these three numbers in [...]

With Time Banks, Citizens Exchange Hours, Not Dollars

Posted by Kindle Loomis, Published: November 21st, 2012

Image credit: Olivia Alcock In an effort to fill the gaps left by our financial institutions, many are searching for local alternatives to national currencies. Time banks are one option that promotes community self-reliance while withstanding the whims of a boom and bust economy. Time banks are now operating in over 300 communities in 22 countries, providing individuals with the opportunity to [...]

About The Donella Meadows Project

The mission of the Donella Meadows Project is to preserve Donella (Dana) H. Meadows’s legacy as an inspiring leader, scholar, writer, and teacher; to manage the intellectual property rights related to Dana’s published work; to provide and maintain a comprehensive and easily accessible archive of her work online, including articles, columns, and letters; to develop new resources and programs that apply her ideas to current issues and make them available to an ever-larger network of students, practitioners, and leaders in social change.  Read More

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