The Arctic’s on Thin Ice, and we Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet
By Donella Meadows
–February 1, 2001–
The place to watch for global warming — the canary in the coal mine — is the poles. If the planet as a whole warms by one degree, the poles will warm by three degrees or so. Which is precisely what is now happening.
The Arctic Ocean has 15 percent less ice cover than it did 20 [...]
What Really Needs to be Said About our Last Lamented Election
By Donella Meadows
–February 1, 2001–
Like you, I have been drowning in the gush of reaction to our recent election (or selection) — an election that will never quite be over, that will continue to prick like a thorn, that was clearly never intended, as our new president is already demonstrating, to unite instead of divide us.
I have heard no one, [...]
An Ode to the Cow and the Milk
By Donella Meadows
–January 25, 2001—-
Years ago, when I went out to my new chicken house and found the very first freshly laid egg, I stared at it in awe. “How did that hen DO that?” I wondered. She takes in grain and bugs and kitchen scraps and turns them into an EGG! Shell on the outside, white and yolk on [...]
Electricity Restructuring and Faith in the Market
By Donella Meadows
–January 18, 2001—-
As blackouts roll through California, the New Hampshire Supreme Court just cleared the way for electrical restructuring, while a Vermont utility assures legislators that what is happening out west can’t happen here.
Why not?
As I hear people try to explain California’s electricity problem, I wonder whether anyone really understands the market system. We discuss it endlessly, we [...]
Readers Roar Back with Varying Degrees of Politeness
By Donella Meadows
–January 4, 2001–
Sending an opinion column into the world is a bit like tickling a sleeping bear. Sometimes you get back low rumbles. Every now and then you stir up a roar.
Who would have guessed that fluorine would touch such a nerve? Last year I wrote about the wisdom (which I was beginning to doubt) of fluoridating drinking [...]
