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Articles by Donella Meadows

Donella H. Meadows (1941-2001) was an adjunct professor of environmental studies at Dartmouth College and director of the Sustainability Institute in Hartland, Vt.

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  • Facing the Music

    Of all the tragic characters in Greek myths, the one who gives me the most shivers is Cassandra. The god Apollo gave her a wonderful gift — the ability to foretell the future — then followed it up with a terrible curse — no one would ever believe her. I can just imagine Cassandra, standing […]

  • The Deep Six

    Months ago, the United Nations decided to make an event out of the fact that the human population meter would soon click over another billion. They picked an arbitrary date — October 12 — and declared it the Day of 6 Billion. What kind of event should this be? A day of repentance? A celebration? […]

  • Shining a Light on Dark Corners of the Budget Process

    I don’t know any other way to stop the ugly, destructive, sneaky, greedy, immoral, undemocratic goings-on in the dark corners of the congressional budget process, except to keep shining bright lights on them. This is time of year when it is decided how your and my tax dollars get spent, supposedly for our public welfare, […]

  • All We Are Saying Is Give Peace a Chance

    Recently I invited friends around the world to ask their friends and neighbors a simple question: “What would the world be like if it were what you really want, not what you’ve learned to settle for or what you think is possible? What do you really want the world to be like for your children […]