Best and Brightest … Genius — Esquire

A once-in-a-lifetime game-changing advance
in our field everyone else will follow
— Marshall Goldsmith

Astrophysicist turned new media whiz — NBC

Passionate … confident … — Forbes

You don't just learn theory from
him, you improve your life.
— Inc.

The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Harvard University, Standford University, Princeton University, MTV, IBM, US Army

My Mission

My mission is to help change American (and global) culture on sustainability and stewardship from expecting deprivation, sacrifice, burden, and chore to expecting rewarding emotions and lifestyles, as I see happen with everyone I lead to act for their intrinsic motivations.

In my case the emotions have been joy, fun, freedom, connection, meaning, and purpose.



Systemic change begins with personal change.

Some of my values. What are yours?
Months living off the grid in Manhattan: 45 (and counting)
Loads of garbage I filled in 2025 so far: 0
Loads filled in 2024: 0
Loads filled in 2023: 0
Loads filled in 2022: 0
Loads filled in 2021: 0
Loads filled in 2020: 0
Loads filled in 2019: 1
Loads filled in 2018: 1
Loads filled in 2017: 1
Days picking up litter: 3,236 and counting
Years not flying: 10 (119 months) and counting
2024-25 grid electric grid use at home: 0 kilowatt-hours
Annual carbon emissions: about 1 ton
Daily burpees: 264,431 and counting
Resting pulse: 38 bpm

LATEST BLOG POSTS

Does every group think they’re the best?

on February 19, 2026 in Models, Nonjudgment

I’ve meant to start compiling this list for a while. People often equate racism with white supremacy. Even if they say they aren’t the same, many people consider all white people as privileged, whether they want to be or not, and all people of color as being oppressed, at least to some degree. They consider that white people may face challenges, but not because of their skin color, whereas people[…] Keep reading →

Silly bathroom question: Am I missing something here?

on February 18, 2026 in Awareness, Choosing/Decision-Making, Habits

I think I usually write about important topics, but I like to share silly things my mind ponders. I think it builds self-awareness. I don’t know how the following situation will seem to a reader, but I hope it reads as it feels to me playing with ideas: being curious. I brush my teeth after dinner, before going to bed. Sometimes after dinner I also need to poop. I figure[…] Keep reading →

846: Gail Eisnitz: The Inside Story of a Life Investigating Factory Farms

on February 17, 2026 in Podcast

Gail shares her investigations into meat industry practices, exploring how exorbitant slaughterhouse production line speeds in a consolidated slaughter industry affect animals as they are being handled and killed, and how the proliferation of massive factory farms impacts animals being raised in intensive confinement. She spent decades in the field documenting violations against farm animals and in the office preparing cases and writing about her investigations in articles and books.[…] Keep reading →

Why don’t the left and right look at themselves the way the other does? Or do they, but I can’t find it?

on February 16, 2026 in Awareness, Nonjudgment

We’ve all heard how since the left and right get their news from different sources and those sources present different facts, it’s as if two parts of the nation live in different realities. If so, how can they agree on points based on different facts? A related issue I don’t think I’ve seen treated stems from each group evaluating themselves and the others based on different criteria. The left judges[…] Keep reading →

This week’s selected media, February 15, 2026: Cinefiles

on February 15, 2026 in Tips

This week I finished: Many Cine-Files podcast episodes, hosted by Steve Morris and John Rocha: I’ve been appreciating movies more lately. After each movie I like, I follow up with reviews. Following up Remains of the Day, I found this podcast of two guys in the movie industry talking about it with more depth and thoughtfulness than most reviews. It turns out they did a four-part survey of Scarface too,[…] Keep reading →

Visiting the Jackie Robinson Museum

on February 14, 2026 in Freedom

The Jackie Robinson Museum offered free admission this weekend. I didn’t know about it and don’t remember how I learned of the offer, but it turns out it’s a 20-minute walk from my front door so I took them up on the offer. I recommend the museum to anyone. I presume most Americans know Jackie Robinson as the guy who “broke the color barrier” in baseball. Scroll to the bottom[…] Keep reading →

845: Sarah Goodyear and Doug Gordon: The War on Cars and Life After Cars

on February 13, 2026 in Podcast

Doug and Sarah’s podcast The War on Cars is a podcast that delivers news and commentary on the latest developments in the worldwide fight to undo a century’s worth of damage wrought by the automobile, approaching the topic from all angles, from politics to pop culture. They release two regular episodes and one Patreon bonus episode per month. Doug and Sarah’s Book Cars ruin everything. That’s why we need Life[…] Keep reading →

Civil war results: obligation to kill old friends

on February 12, 2026 in Freedom, Stories

People read prediction of environmental problems like climate change or biodiversity loss and think the problems we face will be from things like crop failure or heat exhaustion from a warmer globe or lack of plants from honeybees dying. Those results won’t cause the most suffering. They will provoke what causes the suffering, but fighting between people and societies will cause the most suffering. I’ll illustrate. Say crops start producing[…] Keep reading →

A rat and plastic in Washington Square Park, of the many due to garbage and litter

on February 11, 2026 in Nature, PollutionAndDepletion, Visualization

I don’t have anything against rats, but they represent a loss of biodiversity and a failure of our society. They thrive on our waste. This island used to be covered with countless species of mammals, birds, and probably reptiles and amphibians, on top of plants and fungi. Now we have mostly rats. No beavers, coyotes, bears, egrets, swans, butterflies, and what used to live here, plus fish, mollusks, dolphins, and[…] Keep reading →

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