All Posts

Previous Years: 2026 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008
2021
December
31: The uncomfortable but desired result of the 70-pound (31.8 kg) kettlebell
30: What fruit or vegetable has industrial agriculture destroyed most?
29: How personal action on the environment is like practicing to reach Carnegie Hall
28: How personal action on the environment is like changing your baby’s diaper
27: 545: Jesse Eisinger: Pulitzer-Prize winning investigative reporter for Propublica
26: Year 3, day 2 on this one load of trash
25: Hope in small places: a dusting of snow
24: How to Create a Sustainability Movement: sneak preview of my book and workshops
23: 544: Michael Carlino, part 3: What would Jesus do with an iPhone?
22: Decade two, day 1: I reached the ground with my heels on downward dog for the first time in my life.
21: Ten years (3,652 consecutive days)
20: 543: Hilary Link, part 1: a college president leading her school to carbon neutrality
19: How Biden can pass his program with bipartisan support. With global support.
18: Hear me on America Out Loud’s After Dark: “Single White Straight Male Living In America”
17: 542: Chad Foster, part 3: Experiencing nature, people, and sex without sight
16: The three people who understand my sustainability least
15: How I started coaching professionally: a “free coaching” offer on Craigslist
14: 541: My “rant” on “People want to act, Josh, but it’s hard”
13: 540: Blake Haxton, part 3: Exploring nature from a wheelchair with a shotgun
12: What “Circular” and “Closed-loop” mean
11: Why don’t the media and courts treat Ghislaine Maxwell like an independent woman with agency?
11: Heartwarming reasons I pick up litter knowing it alone won’t fix the world’s problems overnight.
10: 539: Katharine Hayhoe: Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World
9: How we’re like gorillas with kids
8: 538: How much should I reduce my pollution? How many slaves should Thomas Jefferson have freed?
7: 537: Nate Hochman, part 1: Toward a Conservative Environmentalism
6: We live better today than kings before?
5: How to reform taxes: A chess model
4: Saying “It won’t matter if we pollute less if China and Russia don’t” is the opposite of leadership.
3: My fourth TEDx talk: Don’t call Doof Food: systemic change begins with personal change
2: Advice to a young adult in 2021
1: 536: David Pogue: How to Prepare for Climate Change: A Practical Guide to Surviving the Chaos
November
30: What leadership brings to sustainability
29: Euphoria from food
28: 535: The best sledding hill in the world, Tommy’s Hill in Philadelphia (from my third TEDx talk)
27: 534: Mom, part 2: Opportunity and oppression: race and religion in my childhood
26: A gift your partner will love receiving. No cost or waste. Minutes to prepare.
25: Tomorrow is Buy Nothing Day. Make it Buy Nothing Season. Give the gift of your presence and attention.
24: 533: Laura Coe, part 3: The Nature of Love
23: Another reason for individual action
22: 532: Michael Lenox, part 3: How to Decarbonize the Global Economy by 2050
21: Buzzfeed’s privilege “calculator”: How I Did
20: Stop saying “The planet will be fine. It’s us who may not make it.” Everybody knows.
19: 531: Scott White, part 1: The Founder/CEO of an Energy Company on Sustainability
18: Genesis 1:26-28 and Sustainability
17: On depression
16: 530: Cassiano Laureano, part 2: Burpees for the body, banzai tree for the heart and mind
15: 529: Katie Redford, part 2: No distractions. Keeping oil in the ground.
14: Profane
13: My brief conversation with someone smoking crack by Washington Square Park, next door to Babbo, with a twist at the end.
12: Why everything will collapse (someone else’s video)
11: People who fly do it for themselves and end up hurting others. People who avoid flying do it for others and end up helping themselves.
10: Is flying to protest in Glasgow like PETA practicing animal sacrifice?
9: 528: Don’t Bother With Stewardship. It Makes Your Life Worse. Especially If You’re American.
8: Is Capitalism Driving Our Environmental Problems?
7: 527: Mike Michalowicz, part 1: Entrepreneurship, stewardship, and engaging, compelling writing
6: 526: A recent talk on doof, heroin, crack, and sustainability
5: A billion-dollar simple (partial) solution to litter
4: Response to a Christian reader about his friends struggling with stewardship
3: 525: Katie Redford, part 1: She beat a multinational oil company in court just getting started
2: Scrubbing the floor regularly
1: 524: James Rebanks, part 1: Pastoral Song
October
31: “Bucket list” means craving. You’ll never be satisfied with other places until you’re satisfied where you are.
30: I graphed my ecological footprint, according to the Global Footprint Network
29: A way to lower pollution that would work
28: 523: Dr. Warren Farrell, part 1: Listening to men, what they keep to themselves
27: Another way to see the problem with chasing energy efficiency as a strategy
26: The environment has losing stories.
25: My shameful reason for not learning to play basketball
24: 522: Abdal Hakim Murad, part 1: Britain’s most influential Muslim thinker
23: Notes from a reader who made famous no-packaging vegan stew from my video
22: Renewables are less renewable than we thought. That’s the starting point.
21: Why do so many people lecture me on what it’s like to be a straight white male?
20: 521: Blake Haxton, part 2: Teamwork is crucial. How to solve that we’re divided
19: My second Bronx cooking workshop to fill in food deserts, in one of New York City’s most beautiful spots
18: National Geographic wants you to pay to exploit, plunder, and destroy Earth’s beauty and cultures, co-opting ecologists
17: Why does nearly everyone reject Gandhi’s advice?
16: Prepare yourself that you will soon be unable to fly across an ocean
15: 520: Blake Haxton, part 1: This Paralympic silver medalist shares the mindset we can all use to face our environmental crises
14: Asking for help is leading.
13: 519: Terik Weekes, Chief Engineer for Elroy Air: The future of electric flight
12: Vegans who fly?
11: 518: Killing cities, gardens, and parks, New York’s cruel “Open Restaurants” overreach
10: In One Chart: How America Can Influence the World on Sustainability and Why It Can’t Now
9: Refining one of my core message: Systemic Change Begins With Personal Change
8: 517: Michael Carlino, part 2: Faith, God, the Bible, and Values
7: You knew flying, plastic, etc were too good to be true. You didn’t earn them.
6: Robert McNamara and Geoengineering
5: 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics: Climate Science and my response
4: 516: Geoengineering: Prologue or Epilogue for Humanity?
3: Technology is less important than you think to change culture.
2: 515: Chad Foster, part 2: A blind man overcoming the trap of feeling you have to fix the world
1: “Touch grass”
September
30: 514: Jojo Mehta: Ecocide: why you want this law more than you’ve imagined
29: 513: Jon Levy, part 2: Which influences more, shame and guilt or support and love?
28: 512: Perhaps our most useful lesson, from of a Paralympic athlete who endured catastrophe
27: “Even when it doesn’t taste as good, it tastes better when you cook it yourself.”
26: 511: Joe Collins, part 1.5: Can We Clean South Central Los Angeles?
25: My little litter poem
24: Another morning walk seeing litter in my neighborhood.
23: Spodek’s Law of environmental debate
22: My main discovery that makes The Spodek Method work
21: 510: Jonathan Hardesty, part 6: “This method of doing things is making me become a better husband and parent”
20: Would Jesus or Buddha fly in 2021?
19: 509: Joe Romm: From science to working with James Cameron, leading through story
18: How to remember e to 20 decimal places
17: The two biggest chips on my shoulder
16: Imagine India without Gandhi, South Africa without Mandela, the U.S. without King. Now imagine Earth today with their equivalent.
15: My first open letter to the leadership training community
14: 508: Eric Orts, part 2: To the U.S. Senate by living the values he leads
13: 507: Behind the Mic: Teamwork Versus Leadership
12: Teamwork will elevate us to victory
11: 506: I lost $10 million on September 11, 2001. Here is what I learned from those who sacrificed and served.
10: #4 of the Top 15 Leadership Blogs You Should Be Reading in 2021: This One.
9: 505: Michael Carlino, part 1: From the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
8: Graduated to a new kettlebell: 70 pounds (31.8kg)
7: Welcome to the newest member of the This Sustainable Life podcast family, TSL: Biodiversity & Conservation by Michèle Watson
6: 504: Dar-Lon Chang, part 2: Activists on Exxon’s Board (and fighting a real estate developer who lied about sustainability)
5: Why does almost no one pick up litter?
4: Why you shouldn’t live sustainably (not really): Coming clean about my shameful sponge
3: Want to live more sustainably: The measure that matters
2: 503: Jonathan Hardesty, part 5: Facing and overcoming gluttony
1: Notes from biking from New York City to Philadelphia over the weekend
August
31: My 1-minute video on a counterintuitive concept in science and technology
30: 502: Cassiano Laureano, part 1: The world record for most burpees in an hour
29: We know less about nature and science than ever
28: 501: Big City Andrew, part 2: Cleaning small towns and big cities
27: 500: This Podcast’s Next Milestone
26: Even when governments pay them to have more kids, families want fewer
25: How much litter should you pick up?
24: 499: What sets limits on pollution, part 2: some answers
23: 498: What sets the limits on pollution? Why don’t we pollute less or decrease faster?
22: How will a sustainable world look?
21: 497: Don’t let judgment and criticism kill action: Gernot Wagner’s personal example.
20: They’re creating a bike route from Maine to Florida. Sponsor me in a fundraising ride!
19: 496: Reverend Doctor Ambrose Carroll, Sr., part 1: Greening the Church
18: Inspired to my first run in almost a year: 9 miles. Still plogging.
18: Leading a children’s workshop on picking up litter in Union Square
17: 495: Alexis Stewart, part 1: Martha’s daughter’s passion for picking up litter
16: 494: How Is Addiction to Fossil Fuels Different From Addiction to Heroin and Crack?
15: The point of individual action when you want to change systems
14: Space: The Final Frontier, hear me on America Out Loud on space, space travel, and astrophysics
13: Another million dollar business idea: Goodwill Food
12: Young people don’t want kids out of fear. What does it take to wake up and fix our culture?
11: How to transform my famous no-packaging vegan stew into restaurant food
10: 493: Sarah Wilson: Living Joyfully Sustainably (more fun than excuses)
9: 492: Did Steven Pinker’s Better Angels of our Nature miss why we’re less violent?
8: The distraction of reporting more wind and solar
7: When pollution happens
6: Bullshit Cargo
5: Food poisoning and burpees nearly as hard as after a marathon
4: 491: Nevcan Gungor, part 1: Surviving Myanmar’s military coup
3: More recursion after last week’s recursive map post
2: I helped get bikes allowed on New York City subways
1: On sustainability, technology is not the solution. It’s more part of the problem.
July
31: There’s no such thing as a superfood
30: 490: Karen Shragg, part 2: Lowering birth rate and raising tomato rate
29: The most amazing “You Are Here” map you’ve ever seen
28: What would you say to a slave trader in 1806 England or 1860 U.S. who feared for his or her profession?
27: The twisted, non-thinking of economists thinking economies must grow or they’ll collapse
26: 489: Martin Puris, part 2: All big ideas begin in the mind of one person thinking creatively
25: Know the 2 carbon cycles and don’t confuse them.
24: A pile of ten syringes outside a luxury building by Washington Square Park. Where is Mayor De Blasio?
24: Communicating with tech geeks on sustainability
23: Olympic devastation that could be local fun instead
22: We will soon see plastic the way we see asbestos, leaded gasoline, and marketing cigarettes to children
21: 488: Maxine Bédat, part 1: Everything You’ve Always Wanted to Know About Fashion’s Sustainability (or lack thereof)
20: Personal action: Nobody said act once and stop. Act, learn, act more, lead others.
19: Hear me speak on Initiative on Moving Mountains with Sasha Laghonh
19: 175,000 burpees
18: Eugenics, anti-miscegenation, and ecofascism, especially in the United States
17: 487: Karen Shragg E.D.D., part 1: At last, simple, reasonably talk on (over)population
16: The best presentation on population I’ve seen, by TV and movie star Alexandra Paul
15: 486: General Kip Ward, part 2: Not flying by choice, and smiling about it
14: I don’t pick up litter because I care about the environment. I care about the environment because I pick up litter.
13: How a Nation With No Racists Can Appear Half-Racist to Everyone in It
12: Reinterpreting the Marshmallow Experiment
11: Doing something nonpolluting doesn’t offset something polluting
10: Eating something healthy doesn’t offset something unhealthy
9: 485: Jonathan Hardesty, part 4: How to Lead Someone to Stewardship: The Spodek Method
8: 484: John Sargent, part 2: Fun Transforming MacMillan, a Big 5 Publisher
7: A New Reason I Pick Up Trash Every Day
6: Hear me on ExecuPeaks on leadership and sustainability with Sasha Laghonh
6: “Olympic Swimmer Caeleb Dressel Says the Key to Success Is Making Your Bed”
5: 483: Jane O’Sullivan: Debunking the “Aging Problem” Scam
4: How Close Are We To July 4th, 1775?
3: How Pollution Happens: the Bicycle Analogy
2: Don’t put your faith in the next generation. The last generation put faith in you. Act yourself first.
1: 482: Florida’s Condo Collapse, Doom Psychology, and Our Environment
1: 481: Joe Collins, part 1: From a gang to Congress?
June
30: 480: Scott Hardin-Nieri: part 1: Scripture to Mobilize Climate Action
29: How Much Space You Take Up Is Irrelevant
28: “Pride Destroyed the Park”, Washington Square Park after a parade (Video)
27: 479: Martin Puris, part 1: What’s Wrong With America?
26: My new top advice on what to do about the environment
25: 478: Forrest Galante, part 1: Saving Zanzibar Leopards and Other Not Yet Extinct Species
24: More Mechai Viravaidya resources: Our world’s top role model
23: 477: Mechai Viravaidya: My #1 Top Role Model in the World
22: 476: Tom Murphy, part 3: The Science Book of the Decade
21: Why I Chose Not to Run for Office
20: Signs of Overpopulation
19: Video: What’s wrong with New York City?
18: What Actions Reduce Greenhouse Emissions Most?
17: The scams that keep us from solving our environmental problems
16: 475: We Can Dance Around Environmental Problems All We Want. We Eventually Reach Overpopulation and Overconsumption
15: 474: Frederick Lane, part 2: Intrinsic Versus Extrinsic Motivation
14: It’s Time to Ban Single-Use Packaging: The Village Sun published my op-ed piece
13: Comedian Bill Burr on Overpopulation
12: 473: James Suzman: What We Can Learn From 300,000 Years of Human History
11: More Used Syringes Littering My Community, This Time at Penn Station and Moynihan Hall
10: 472: Big City Andrew, part 1: Traditional Conservative values and stewardship
9: 12 Sustainability Leadership Lessons Unplugging My Fridge for 6.5 Months Taught Me
8: Hear me on My Wakeup Call with Dr. Mark Goulston
8: How I keep going when I feel like giving up (which is often)
7: Hear me on conservative talk radio: Living By Your Values Is Freedom
6: 470: Sustainable Activities: I’m learning singing (my mortifying “before” recording)
5: Clawing back: 4,951 meters in 20 minutes. 49 to go.
4: Recycling is like improving Enron’s health care plan
3: 469: Podcast episode: The Science Book of the Decade: Energy and Human Ambitions on a Finite Planet
2: 468: Alexandra Paul, part 2: How to Reduce Something (Wasteful) You Enjoy, to Improve Your Life
1: 467: Frederick Lane, part 1: The Rise of the Digital Mob
May
31: Memorial Day Glory in Greenwich Village
30: The Science Book of the Decade: Energy and Human Ambitions on a Finite Planet, by Tom Murphy
29: 466: Shaun Donovan: New York City Mayoral Candidate
28: Richard Nixon: Environmentalist (compared to us today)
27: You’ll change when the five people around you do
26: 465: Markus Pukonen, part 1: Around the World With No Motors
25: Immigrants and poor people don’t do work other Americans won’t. We create horrible jobs when we can exploit people.
24: What do you think is the main thing that makes a healthy, long lasting relationship?
23: Dominion, the documentary
22: “Corporations should change, not consumers” and other nonsense
21: 464: Resilience: Six months with the fridge unplugged
20: If I ever write a novel, what I’ll write
19: 463: Brad Hoylman, part 1: From New York Senator to Manhattan Borough President
18: 462: Bill Ryerson, part 3: The biggest impact you can make
17: Exercise: Imagine a Day Without Doof
16: 461: 24 Hours With No Electrical Power (After)
15: 460: 24 Hours With No Electrical Power (Before)
14: 459: Jonathan Hardesty, part 3: How to Continue a Sustainability Podcast
13: Exercise: Imagine a Day Without Using Electric Power
12: 458: The Spodek Method: How to Lead Someone to Act Joyfully Sustainably
11: 457: Jon Levy, part 1: The Art and Science of Cultivating Influence
10: Envisioning a more open world: an exercise
9: The solution to intermittency in solar and wind power
8: Pollution:Earth :: Obesity:Body
7: How to take two years to fill a load of trash or get a $1.70 electric bill
6: 456: Jonathan Hardesty, part 2: How to Start a Sustainability Podcast
5: I Saw A Guy Eating Ice Cream With Zero Joy
4: At a loss for words at people playing with their fat
3: What was it like to watch Mandela, Gandhi, and Dr. King and not help?
2: Should streams have rights? Should corporations?
1: We Can’t Change the Past But We Can Choose Our Values
April
30: 455: J. B. MacKinnon, part 2: What happens when you pay for quality?
29: Would you rather eat as much as you want or have someone cook for you and serve you?
28: 454: Richard Rothstein: Racial segregation in generations of U.S. law
27: More reasons to act now, not wait for governments or corporations
26: 453: Bill Ryerson, part 2: How can we talk about population? What can we do?
25: Each month is 1%
24: Sometimes writing is peaceful and flows. Sometimes it takes work, toil, and struggle.
23: The Benefits of Staying Local
22: Month 6, Day 1: Fridge still off (Happy Earth Day)
21: The Story of Plastic Animated Short Video
20: How to Get Free Vegetables With a Smile
19: Preferring a virus to a vaccine?
18: 452: Book Update #1
17: 3 minor fitness successes
16: 451: Alexandra Paul, part 1: A Genuine Celebrity Role Model
15: Progressing From DJs to Dirt
14: “How Exercise May Help Protect Against Severe Covid-19” Comments
13: Finally, I illustrated what’s missing from sustainability
12: After ten years, pushing 50, burpees are getting harder
11: Thoughts on singing
10: Vasectomies aren’t about fewer children. They’re about more sex.
9: Success Through Garbage
8: More evidence it’s wrong that only government and corporations can make a difference
7: 450: Brian Keating, Losing the Nobel Prize
6: Why I predict the Next Pandemic Will Happen Sooner Than in a Century. More like a decade or two.
5: Rowing 4,936 meters in 20 minutes
4: How do you honor Easter?
3: Missing birds
2: A lovable bigot is still a bigot and a lovable polluter still pollutes.
1: I Bet You Care More Than People Think You Do
March
31: But I don’t have any farmers markets nearby. Should I give up?
30: Wisdom in short audio clips, part 2
29: Wisdom in short audio clips, part 1
28: You Can’t Think More Complex Than Interruptions Allow
27: Litter Hurts
26: An empty sidcha I’m considering
25: Don’t call plastic “green space”
24: The Weather Is Warm. Guess Who’s Back in Washington Square Park, Sadly?
23: Year 6, day 1 since I last flew
23: 449: Chad E. Foster: How Do You Handle Huge Challenges? Not Big. Huge.
22: “I refuse to be silenced because you’re afraid of change”
21: Starting month 5 With My Fridge Unplugged
20: Family Planning Success Stories From Around the World (mostly videos)
19: 448: Robert Bilott: The Lawyer Who Became DuPont’s Worst Nightmare
18: 447: Kathryn Garcia, part 1: Candidate for New York City Mayor
17: Vertical farms illustrate the problem with fusion
16: Learned helplessness and managing population
15: 446: Wondering how you can make a difference? Action begets action.
14: Book 3, first draft done
13: 445: Rabbi Yonatan Neril, part 2: Religion, Interpreting the Torah, and Nature
12: Bill Gates and environmental leadership, part 2: His Addiction Speaking
11: 3 Meditation Updates
10: What happened to utopia?
9: Bill Gates and environmental leadership
8: How I improved on Eisenhower
7: Can people collaborate across lines of nationality, skin color, etc when it counts?
6: Debunking the myth that an ageing population is a problem.
5: 444: Dar-Lon Chang, part 1: The engineer who made headlines for quitting ExxonMobil
4: Vegan Seitan Stew, 4 minutes prep time (video)
3: 443: Nobody understands what’s so bad with climate change
2: What Genesis Meant
1: Our environment is getting biblical
February
28: Marathon Number Eight
27: 442: Jonathan Hardesty, part 1: The Journey from Absolute Rookie to Mastery
26: “Do black men have a harder struggle in life than most? Are white men privileged?” see me on a Magamedia panel
25: You can make a habit stick faster than the “experts” say
24: 441: John Sargent, part 1: The CEO who reduced a Big Five publisher’s footprint
22: How learning sustainability is like learning sex
21: Pandemic Fatigue? How to Achieve Pandemic Thriving
20: Why do we end sentences with “and stuff” and “or something”?
19: 440: Andrés Reséndez: The Other Slavery
18: “The 11 Best Leadership Books You Should Read This Year” named Leadership Step by Step
17: Hear my second conversation on This Sustainable Life: Solve for Nature
17: 439: How to Fix Texas
16: Do we need math and science after school?
15: The Founding Fathers, travel, and flying
14: Where Is the World Going, Mr. Spodek?
13: 438: Avoiding Creating Garbage, Advanced Edition
12: What the biggest human structure says about culture
11: Hear me on the Cybertraps podcast
10: My latest ecological footprint, according to online calculator: 0.8 tonnes of CO2 annually
9: 437: Bill Ryerson, part 1: Population matters
8: 4 things to remember when riding in 29 (-2C) degree weather
7: 436: You’re right, it’s not fair!
6: 435: Etienne Stott MBE, part 1: Olympic gold medalist climate activist
5: The reason renewables are becoming cheaper than fossil fuels nobody mentions
4: Old person: get with the program
3: Is the best book on the environment a picture book you can finish in a sitting?
2: Why I’m singing
1: Population: Why not educate men on family planning?
January
31: Hear me again on the Ask Women podcast on seductive conversation
30: Do you drink bottled water? Watch Tapped, the movie.
29: Do you have any secret or latent concerns or fears about the environment? Did I miss any?
28: Are these your main worries about the environment? Did I miss any?
27: Are these your burning questions about the environment? Did I miss any?
26: 434: Manisha Sinha: The Slave’s Cause: A History of Abolition
25: Man Ray, the great artist, on his greatest satisfaction
24: 433: Adam Hochschild, part 2: Abolition then, pollution today
23: This Sustainable Life: Solve for Nature launches from Japan, hosted by Eugene Bible
23: 10 Years of Daily Posts
22: I love Goodwill, but we let it enable our wasteful choices
21: 432: Matthew Stevenson, part 2: What can environmentalists learn from disarming racism?
20: 431: I sang every day for two months, unplugged (still going)
19: Senate hearings on Lloyd Austin III, who invited me to speak at West Point
19: The problem with “Governments and corporations have to change”
18: 430: Rabbi Yonatan Neril, part 1: The Eco Bible
17: 429: What about jobs?
16: Government and corporations are more problem than solution
15: Emotions following a summer of BLM, a winter of insurrection, and ongoing pandemic
14: 428: Vanessa Friedman: The New York Times Fashion Director and Chief Fashion Critic
13: Why Food Is Not Medicine
12: The problem with “dependence on foreign oil”
11: A recent video overview on sustainability leadership
10: I used 2.5% the average American’s electric power last month
9: 20 years ago, my first media coverage: The Wall Street Journal
8: What one person does matters. What more evidence do you need?
7: Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth
6: 2020 versus 2021
5: Elon Musk and the Environment
4: Sketch for book or TV series introduction
3: 427: Behind the Mic: Attraction and leadership
2: 426: Why unplug?
1: “Philosophy of Shrinking Footprints” and “Shrinking Your Travel Footprint”, hear me on 2 Growthbusters episodes
Previous Years: 2026 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008

Post Categories

Read my weekly newsletter

On initiative, leadership, the environment, and burpees

We won't send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time. Powered by Kit