LATEST BLOG POSTS

The Washington Post‘s Climate Coach column by Michael Coren quoted me today. Scroll down in the image or pdf below and you’ll see my comments on an app designed for packaged food and doof. They had to edit for space (asking permission, of course). Here’s the full text I wrote: Hi, I recommend a solution I prefer to Yuka, which doesn’t work for me since I don’t buy packaged food.[…] Keep reading →

I attended an event in midtown by Trump Plaza in midtown over the weekend. A friend who is very liberal said how uncomfortable the space made her feel. She also mentioned how she just got back from Mexico and planned to return there, as well as New Orleans, in the next few months. I didn’t point out to her how much of the cost of her plane tickets is funding[…] Keep reading →

It’s difficult to empathize with people we disagree with. It’s difficult to look at the world as if you knew only what they knew and nothing of what you know that they didn’t. Many people seem unable to distinguish understanding and empathizing with someone from agree with or supporting them. I think part of our inhibition comes from fearing that we’ll find that we would have felt and done things[…] Keep reading →

This week I finished: Ulysses S. Grant—A documentary on the 18th President, part 1: Grant plays a big role in my new book as a role model. He was a broke farmer recovering from malaria. His wife’s family owned slaves, giving him an easy way to recover if he chose it. Meanwhile, his father refused to help him as long as he stayed with slaveholders. He had acquired a slave[…] Keep reading →

People consistently say they don’t do what they believe is right regarding pollution and depletion because it won’t change the system. I point out that independent of what anyone else does, their personal pollution and depletion will hurt people who have not consented. They rarely even minimally decrease their pollution and depletion. I’m curious what people think they would have done under slavery, the Holocaust, Stalinism, or other dominance hierarchy.[…] Keep reading →

I recently met with an environmentalist. The name isn’t important, but this person founded an organization devoted to justice around climate. The person and organization are highly regarded in their fields. Our conversation followed a common pattern. This person is pursuing standard practices of legislation, market incentives, and innovation to promote things like more scientific research, innovating efficiency and new legislation, but most of all, a transition to “renewable” energy.[…] Keep reading →

I was talking to a coaching client about leadership, which works with people’s intrinsic motivations. Since our greatest motivations and passions tend to be our greatest vulnerabilities, we tend to protect ourselves by hiding them. A challenge, then, for the leader who wants to go beyond just managing, beyond just leading, to inspire people, is to learn their deepest motivations, which they often protect the most. I was working with[…] Keep reading →

This post shares a long series of legitimizing myths. Why cover these beliefs so comprehensively? Recall the response of a wise person who was asked, “If you had one hour to save the world, how would you spend it?” The reply: “I would spend 55 minutes defining the problem and 5 minutes solving it.” Another wise person said, “If I had 4 hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend[…] Keep reading →

I may update the acronym, but I’ve created one for my upcoming book that I’ve found relevant to many people’s views on pollution, depletion, and the prospect of life and culture without either. I’ve found useful the acronym TYMCALM (pronounced: Tim-calm, for “That’s Your Mind Creating A Legitimizing Myth”) useful for when people respond reflexively to rationalize or justify a behavior that violates their values. For example, when I say[…] Keep reading →