LATEST BLOG POSTS

In its August 22 issue, the New Yorker published a piece, Africa’s Cold Rush and the Promise of Refrigeration: For the developing world, refrigeration is growth. In Rwanda, it could spark an economic transformation. August 22 happened to start my fourth month of my experiment disconnecting my apartment from the electric grid, which is to say 3.93 months longer than I expected to make it. The article was about bringing[…] Keep reading →

As a kid growing up, I avoided reading the New Yorker. My dad subscribed to it, so I figured I wouldn’t like it. Now I consider its writing some of the best around. Over the summer, I picked up this framed poster of an iconic New Yorker cover from a neighbor getting rid of it. My opinion started changing in 1990, my year in Paris, when two things happened. First,[…] Keep reading →

Continuing a long trend of guests sharing partially doing their commitments but not stopping, Stephen comes back for an episode 1.5, not yet his episode 2. Stephen committed to sharing his childhood family experiences hiking on a path near a family cabin (my description doesn’t do justice to his description, so listen to his first episode, 622, to hear his description drawing on his life experiences). As happens sometimes when[…] Keep reading →

At noon Saturday, October 1st, I’ll lead my next workshop on sustainable living at one of my favorite spots in New York City: Drew Community Garden, on the Bronx River, in the middle of an underserved neighborhood. I compare Drew Garden with Central Park with how much I like the space, in some ways favorable because it’s maintained by a few people in the community and every part of it[…] Keep reading →

Today began month 5 disconnected from the grid, one of my life’s most educational and rewarding experiences. I didn’t know how I’d make more than two days. My goal was one month. I had no idea I’d make it this far, nor how much it would connect me with traditional cultures and reveal our culture’s entitlement, addiction, resignation, abdication, capitulation, and ignorance of how much of life we’ve numbed ourselves[…] Keep reading →

My second article in the prestigious Leader to Leader Journal just appeared. It’s peer-reviewed and edited, so if you’re used to reading me hear, it should be a step up in quality. The article is We Who Choose to Lead Are Humanity’s Best Hope to Save Civilization. Sustainability lacks leadership. It has plenty of people sharing information, numbers, and instructions, or what I call CCCSC, short for coercing, cajoling, convincing,[…] Keep reading →

It’s tempting to look at fossil fuels and global warming and conclude: a fuel that didn’t release greenhouse gases would solve our problems. Then we look at nuclear plants whose fuels are uranium and other elements. Splitting them doesn’t release greenhouse gases. They look like improvements. Why not switch to nuclear? The switch looks yet better when you consider other problems with fossil fuels. They release more than greenhouse gases:[…] Keep reading →