A new way I'm communicating that systemic change begins with personal change: To cross the finish line of the marathon of changing a system, you first have to cross the starting line of changing yourself. Otherwise you aren't in the race. In the case of sustainability, the starting line is to find joy and intrinsic motivation in acting more sustainably, so you look forward to the steps of continual improvement. I hope this formulation helps people stop acting like when I talk about one, I'm implying not to do the other. They're annoying. Now, to indulge myself in memories from ten years ago, here are pictures of me running in a marathon: And my rowing machine readout after my second time rowing a marathon, three…

I'm trying to remember all the material things I bought last year besides food. I paid for many services and non-material things like train rides and web hosting. I also caused pollution that hurt people (and wildlife) in other ways, but I see paying for material things as a useful proxy for polluting. What I remember: One thermal shirt from a thrift store One tank top from a thrift store A wide-brimmed hat from a thrift store to block the sun without sun screen while charging on the roof Razor blades from a reseller on Craigslist (though I'm giving them away, see below) A DC cable to charge my computer from the batteries I charge from solar An envelope at the post office to mail…

A reader wrote with a message on doof. Or rather on enjoying food instead. It resonated so much I asked permission to share it. Here it is: Hi Josh Season's greetings! I hope you enjoyed a delicious, doof-free Christmas feast. Some time ago I watched your TED talk "Don't Call Doof Food" and was delighted to discover a fellow human being who truly loves the taste of genuine food. With the exception of the occasional tin of fish in olive oil, my husband and I have been buying only single-ingredient foods for about seven years. We have dispensed with condiments, sugars and flours and eat only wholefoods. The longer we've been consuming minimally processed food, the more flavoursome it becomes and the more we enjoy…

This week I finished: Dopamine Nation, by Anna Lembke, MD: I've read a lot of books on addiction and like this one. It describes how widespread addiction has become. Chemicals, cell phones, behaviors like gambling, social media, and pornography for women (called erotica, as if more classy) and men. I listened to the book and translated a lot of what she said about other addictions to flying, air conditioning, and other activities that pollute. The connection is near perfect, which illuminates a lot about how addicted we are to those activities. Also how hard it is for those addicted to see and accept it, let alone stop. I recommend it, especially if you live unsustainably and want to stop, or even just see that you…