We start by talking about the internal challenges Jack felt about acting to do something he wouldn’t have otherwise. He cares about the environment and lives accordingly. Still, he wouldn’t have done what he committed to when we spoke. Does that mean what we would do is inauthentic? Then we talk about nuclear and other policy issues. Heritage’s Project 2025 came up so he shared some back story the news[…] Keep reading →

The following quotes are all relevant to sustainability. I used them all in my book, except the Adam Smith quotes, which came from a recent post. Milton Friedman “I’m not in favor of no government. You do need a government . . . There’s no other institution in my opinion that can provide us with protection of our life and liberty.” He knew that “the key insight of Adam Smith’s[…] Keep reading →

Ten days before Christmas people are already throwing away their Christmas pagan trees. Regular readers know I post pictures of how much people throw away trees they paid for being cut down. They’re following a pagan tradition grafted onto one branch of Christianity. They probably try to believe some self-serving lies that the trees are grown or harvested sustainably, but we know they know. This year I told myself I[…] Keep reading →

Alan is a friend and podcast guest. Regular readers know I comment on how people degrade our environment, including public spaces like our parks. Alan is a counterexample, a breath of fresh air. Alan brings fun, life, community, and joy to the park. Between his music and my New York Times article, we’re in a friendly competition to see who can improve the park more. I often describe him thusly:[…] Keep reading →

This week I finished: Meditation for Mortals: Four Weeks to Embrace Your Limitations and Make Time for What Counts, by podcast guest Oliver Burkeman: I loved his book Four Thousand Weeks and I loved this book. I see it describing how to look at and respond to our culture and my life without getting caught up in its pressure to make me feel like I’m not enough, that I don’t[…] Keep reading →

To all of you out there who say that polluting companies should pollute less, if you pollute an unsustainable amount—that is, 20 percent of what the average American does—why should they change an not you? It’s tempting to say that since they pollute so much, they should stop more, but first: they aren’t polluting for the sake of polluting. They are serving customers who pay them, including you. Second, if[…] Keep reading →

Lorraine is one of the few people I know who saw mainstream sustainability efforts for what they are: ineffective and often counterproductive but self-congratulatory. I call most of them “stepping on the gas, thinking it’s the brake, wanting congratulations.” Unlike most others, once she saw their counterproductivity, if not outright lies, she left. She works to promote an “economy in service of life.” I think it’s easy to see that[…] Keep reading →

Since people describe me as “extreme” so often, I experiment with how to respond since I don’t use the measure they do. They compare me with people around them—that is, with culture. I consider how my behavior affects others. I don’t want to hurt innocent people. My book treats the relationship between our culture and slavery, with the main difference that the cruelty of today’s culture is much greater than[…] Keep reading →

Lorna first appeared on this podcast in 2021. We became friends and remained so, though we challenge each other, as you’ll hear in this conversation. We don’t try to. Just things about the other annoy us. But how much we respect and learn from each other outshines that annoyance. Lorna knew about the Spodek Method and workshops for years. I don’t know why she didn’t join one until now, but[…] Keep reading →