As a podcast host, I get pitched a lot of authors, books, and more. Most aren’t relevant or are counterproductive to sustainability. I received an email promoting the author of Legal Gladiator, a biography of Alan Dershowitz. I knew the name from the news, but didn’t know more than the name, maybe a whiff of his being controversial. I looked up the book and author and found both fascinating. I[…] Keep reading →

A major point of my book Sustainability Simplified is that a culture being unsustainable means it is running out of something so must There is a name for taking from another culture. It’s imperialism. Taking their land is colonialism. You can oppose imperialism and colonialism all you want, if you live unsustainably, you’re driving them both. You can blame governments or rulers for driving them, but they do it because[…] Keep reading →

I quote Susan in my book, Sustainability Simplified. In it you’ll see how much John Locke influenced my long-term vision for the US to understand and solve our environmental problems. Learning about the Thirteenth Amendment, which (mostly) banned slavery, and its improbable path to passage and ratification led me to think about solving our environmental problems similarly. I learned that many people working to abolish slavery worked hard when drafting[…] Keep reading →

My book, Sustainability Simplified, approaches our environmental problems in several ways. One is from the view that government should stick to a few specific roles, one of which is to protect your life, liberty, and property from me taking or destroying it without your consent. A government that doesn’t protect life, liberty, and property leads to a nation without hope for a better future, which leads to people retreating to[…] Keep reading →

I’ve been curious in what ways libertarian views on the environment and sustainability differ from conservative views. Travis worked at the Heritage Foundation, which is more conservative, and now works at the Cato Institute, which is more libertarian. Since I haven’t spoken to many libertarians directly, I’m interested in this conversation to learn, so it’s a conversation, not a debate. Early in our conversation, he describes some of their differences[…] Keep reading →

I’m always working on more effective ways to lead on sustainability. Recall my definition of leadership: helping people do what they already wanted to but haven’t figured out how. To help others, I have to learn what they want, the opposite of opposing my values on them. Most people I ask tell me they support sustainability and are doing their best. They seem to think they aren’t anywhere close to[…] Keep reading →

My phone is going crazy again this morning. The Times put the story on me on the front of the Metro section today. I wonder if the Times felt its readers could use some news they felt would brighten their days. showing a brighter future. The story behind the story Here’s what I’ve shared with people about the piece, if you don’t mind my copying an email I sent to[…] Keep reading →

Usually when someone does their commitment with the Spodek Method, they enjoy it. Nearly always they do more than they commit to. Sometimes someone really enjoys it. Jan went to town on his commitment. You might wonder if there’s any appeal to picking up litter. Is it worth the effort? Who cares, anyway? After all, more people litter than pick it up, as anyone can tell by how much litter[…] Keep reading →

Here’s a typical response on a forum to Tuesday’s profile in the New York Times of me from someone who I think would describe themselves as environmentalist: I enjoyed the article, and your blog post. You are part of the tiny % of the comfortable class who voluntarily simplify. Of course there are 8 billion, most of whom live in INvoluntary simplicity, and are trying to increase their throughput. In[…] Keep reading →