LATEST BLOG POSTS

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 →

I posted last month about a Spodek Method commitment to walk in a park with my sister in Queens based on walking in the park with my dad. Yesterday, I walked in the same park I did with my dad, this time with my other sister, plus her husband and son, my brother-in-law and nephew. To refresh your memory, that post, Another Spodek Method commitment: a walk in the park[…] Keep reading →

This week I finished: The Gulag Archipelago, volume 2, by Aleksander Solzhenitsyn: I think this book has changed my view of the world as much as it will, then it changes me more. The end of this volume becomes more reflective and introspective. It describes how it changes and corrupts society outside the archipelago. As horrific as the archipelago is on the inside, and how far beyond what I would[…] Keep reading →

When I talk about pollution and depletion, people keep telling me about their reductions. They are invariably among the greatest polluters and depleters in humanity’s existence, but they compost their food scraps, avoid meat, or some feel-good minor act. When they talk, it sounds like they’re making a big difference. When you ask about it making a difference, if they see a path to making a difference, or if they[…] Keep reading →

Maybe it’s just me, but some extraneous words and phrases bother me like fingernails on chalkboards. I can’t think of all of them now, but I wanted to start since if I wait until I think of them all, I might never start. I’ll add more as they come to me. “Go ahead and…”: These words add no value. I think the person using them thinks they make them sound[…] Keep reading →

Regular readers know I pick up litter daily. I’ve gotten good at noticing things that people have left on the ground that aren’t litter. I don’t remember exactly when, but probably about two years ago, I saw a box just sitting on the sidewalk. It seemed connected to nothing and when I picked it up and looked around, nobody claimed it. Things like this box sitting there happen all the[…] Keep reading →

When Donald Trump was first elected President ten years ago, since I didn’t know many Trump voters, I posted in the column I wrote then with Inc.com, “If You Voted for Trump, Let’s Meet.“ The post led to several conversations with Trump voters across the US. I found the conversations informative and lovely. How could people who promoted compassion and tolerance so much be so mean? One comment that one[…] Keep reading →

I just posted The first warm day of the year means overflowing doof garbage, of course, which showed how Americans celebrate spring: polluting and depleting, funding the production of garbage, and driving themselves to obesity. We also celebrate winter by killing trees. I hope the picture below is the last Christmas Pagan tree of the season. It goes to show you how many trees we kill in our pagan rituals[…] Keep reading →