Category Archives: Models

The selfishness and self-centeredness of flying

on August 15, 2023 in Models, Nature

When I talk about not flying, people talk about themselves and what they want, never about the people and wildlife displaced from their land for the minerals, fuel, and airports, nor the people and wildlife who suffer from the pollution. When I talk about drunk driving, they don’t talk about what the driver wants, they talk about people they might hurt. When I talk about smoking indoors, they don’t talk[…] Keep reading →

Hawaii: Microcosm of Earth

on August 9, 2023 in Models, Nature

Longtime readers who Eugene Bible, who hosts This Sustainable Life: Solve for Nature, a sibling podcast to mine. He lives in Hawaii. A while ago he shared a view that helps me simplify and clarify how we affect nature. He suggested viewing Hawaii as a microcosm of Earth. Do you have a proposal you think would help Earth? Ask if it would work with Hawaii. [EDIT: I had planned to[…] Keep reading →

Why we’ll prefer sustainability

on August 5, 2023 in Art, Models, Nature

Why people mistakenly think sustainability means deprivation and sacrifice and think not polluting is extreme: I used to party with world famous DJs. Manhattan dance clubs gave me tables and an unlimited guest list back when I made art that a few clubs put in their VIP lounges. Sometimes amid an amazing party, someone would leave early to walk their dog or relieve their baby sitter. From my partying perspective,[…] Keep reading →

The UN’s three-pronged attack on sustainability

on August 2, 2023 in Models, Nature, Visualization

The United Nations may be delivering the most effective attack against sustainability of all. I can only see its three messages below leading people not to change or, if anything, to accelerate business as usual. Message 1: “CODE RED” The United Nations created the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). I see two predominant messages from the UN and IPCC. The first is DANGER DANGER DANGER, or in the words[…] Keep reading →

The stages of environmentalism leading to counterproductive work or capitulation (and how to avoid them)

on July 22, 2023 in Models

People who work on our environmental problems seem to go through stages. I’ll describe them, if you don’t mind I haven’t studied them in detail, just painting broad strokes. We start with ignorance, generally gaining knowledge and ideas of what they can do. We move from ignorance to basic knowledge. Some drop off there. Others continue to more knowledge. Some of them move to realizing they can act. The details[…] Keep reading →

A Role Model for Our Times: Aristides de Sousa Mendes, fired for saving thousands of refugees from Nazis

on July 1, 2023 in Freedom, Leadership, Models, Nature

Failures of imagination and leadership in sustainability are the hallmarks of our time. They mean that when even sustainably-minded people try to imagine people with political or business authority acting for sustainability, they can’t think past how to make sustainability profitable or get votes. I’m going to lead CEOs to see themselves as humans first, CEOs second—politicians, journalists, celebrities, and so on too. Oskar Schindler didn’t save those Jews from[…] Keep reading →

Reading Limits to Growth and learning to sail

on June 19, 2023 in Models

The book Limits to Growth doesn’t answer everything about the environment and sustainability, but I find it gives the best high-level, systemic understanding of the patterns of humanity’s overall interaction with nature. The authors created a model and ran simulations. It could have happened that none corresponded with observation, but after 50 years, there is remarkable correspondence, as researched by podcast guest Gaya Herrington. I recommend reading her results after[…] Keep reading →

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