This Sustainable Life: All Episodes

121: Minimalism should be called Maximalism

121: Minimalism should be called Maximalism

People see my apartment and often describe me or my lifestyle as minimalist. I don’t like labeling people or being labeled, but if anything, a more apt label would be maximalist. You might see the lack of stuff, but my focus is…

120: Rules for plogging in New York City

120: Rules for plogging in New York City

If you haven’t started plogging, I recommend it. What’s plogging? It’s a term the Swedish created for picking up garbage when you run. I’ve picked up at least one piece of trash per day for a few years. In fact, this podcast…

119: Heroin and the Environment

119: Heroin and the Environment

A friend who treats opioid addicts told me about the squalor they live in. They don’t see it because they’re thinking about their next hit, which will bring them euphoria. They’ll steal and prostitute themselves to maintain their habit, not thinking about…

118: Beth Comstock 2: Action creates awareness

118: Beth Comstock 2: Action creates awareness

“To start, I need to build awareness.” Who hasn’t said that about polluting less? It seems the standard starting point. On the contrary, it’s the standard delay tactic. In a world where environmental issues are front page news and everyone sees the…

115: Sandy Reisky, part 2: A Superbowl Ad to reduce consumption

115: Sandy Reisky, part 2: A Superbowl Ad to reduce consumption

First, watch the video Sandy made through Generation 180, the nonprofit he started to promote reducing consumption. His for-profit companies are already responsible for significant increases in solar, wind, and other renewable. I think you’ll find the video effective in reaching people…

114: Dave Asprey: Leading with love

114: Dave Asprey: Leading with love

If you’re like me, you’ve heard of Bulletproof coffee. Since I don’t drink coffee I didn’t think much of it, but since I heard about it, I figured the guy behind it was good at internet marketing. I’d come to hear Dave…

113: Ann-Marie Heidingsfelder: A conservative voice

113: Ann-Marie Heidingsfelder: A conservative voice

You’ll love how I met Ann-Marie, a friend whose perspective I value despite not having met in person yet. After the 2016 election, I posted a piece on Inc., If You Voted for Trump, Let’s Meet, because living in lower Manhattan means…

112: Bethany McLean, part 1: the Business and People of Fracking

112: Bethany McLean, part 1: the Business and People of Fracking

Bethany made her name as the first to report that Enron was overpriced, which meant going deep into the numbers and people, understanding them, and then facing overwhelming criticism. Turns out she was right, but can you imagine the friction and hostility…

111: Marion Nestle: Changing the food system

111: Marion Nestle: Changing the food system

Marion Nestle is a hero for me. Food may be the greatest interest that got me into acting on my environmental action. Avoiding packaged food emerged from avoiding fiber-removed foods, which emerged from reading Diet for a Small Planet in the 80s,…

109: Flying and Polluting Helps Elect Trump

109: Flying and Polluting Helps Elect Trump

This episode is for people who detest Trump. I’ll speak to people who love him in future episodes. If you pollute and emit greenhouse emissions beyond the IPCC recommendations, which one round-trip cross country coach flight will nearly do, you personally pulled…

108: Awareness Is A Delay Tactic, A Smokescreen

108: Awareness Is A Delay Tactic, A Smokescreen

I talk to a lot of people who aren’t acting on their environmental values. They explain their inaction in many ways, but one of the top ones is that they claim they first have to raise their awareness or become more conscious.…

107: Beth Comstock, part 1: Inside the Fortune 5 C-Suite

107: Beth Comstock, part 1: Inside the Fortune 5 C-Suite

Beth personifies whom this podcast is designed to showcase: someone whose hard work, risk-taking, and personal challenge brought her to the pinnacle of her craft, which she is willing to share. That is, someone who did what leaders in the environment have…

106: Exploding the Myth that Technology Will Save Us

106: Exploding the Myth that Technology Will Save Us

Many people believe that technology will save many of our environmental problems. I’ve written and spoken on how making a polluting system more efficient will lead to it polluting more efficiently. My recent cross-country trip by Amtrak, which prompted me to wonder…

105: Evelina Utterdahl, part 2: A Month With No Plastic!

105: Evelina Utterdahl, part 2: A Month With No Plastic!

Evelina said she’d avoid plastic for a month before she could think twice about it. Did she complain or back out? You’ll hear in this episode, but the big picture is that instead of giving up, she worked harder. I’ve spoken to…

104: Jared Angaza, part 2: Motherhood and Apple Pie

104: Jared Angaza, part 2: Motherhood and Apple Pie

Since appearing on his podcast, he and I have become friends. You can’t hear it in this recording, but since meeting on line, I’ve met him in San Diego, where I stayed in his guest bedroom, meet his family, and cooked my…

103: Geoffrey West, part 2: theoretical physics and the environment

103: Geoffrey West, part 2: theoretical physics and the environment

In our second conversation, Geoffrey and I continue to pursue his unique approach to viewing the environment. I find it fascinating because he approaches the environment from a different direction, but he arrives to the same conclusion—the need for leadership to change…