Few things have made me so grateful to live in a time when the phrase “not even wrong” exists. I’ve read parts of White Fragility and skimmed more. I didn’t realize how impactful she had become. I’m commenting today on this video of her I just watched: “One plus one equals three” is, in mathematics, wrong. It might be nice in poetry and you can find ways to make it[…] Keep reading →

A friend who visited broke a couple things of mine. They were fixable, but when he damaged one things by treating it cavalierly I said, “treat everything like it’s valuable.” He was taken aback since I had told him I had found this thing—a laundry drying rack. Some neighbor was throwing it out. It worked so I kept and used it. On last Fridays of the month, if I walk[…] Keep reading →

I was talking to a friend who considers herself more sustainable than most, someone who feels she cares. She said something many people say: “I want to be more sustainable, but I’m not ready to start yet.” This statement illustrates the problem with nearly every approach to sustainability: they’re based in book theory, not practical experience. Without practical experience, they don’t know that acting more sustainably brings liberation, joy, and[…] Keep reading →

I was in Washington Square Park charging my panels. A family of mother, father, and three kids sat on a bench near me, likely tourists. They had takeout food with plenty of packaging from a nearby store. A napkin fell through a gap between the benches so it was behind the father. He turned to try to pick it up but couldn’t reach it after trying contorting a few times[…] Keep reading →

This week I finished: Educated, by Tara Westover: I didn’t know about this book except seeing the cover in bookstores and the library. I looked it up and saw how many people and institutions put it on their “best of” lists. I found it riveting. I almost couldn’t believe someone lived through it. I read it toward the end of my first year since my father died. That year brought[…] Keep reading →

Frederic describes his program The Week in our conversation. I did it last year, invited by a friend (whom I misname in our conversation, sorry) and recognized him. Podcast guest and mutual friend Lorna Davis had introduced us before he had started creating The Week. The Week is one of the few programs on sustainability approaching it as a leadership effort, not management or lecture. Anyone can do it. It’s[…] Keep reading →

Do you value getting consent for actions one person does that affect another? When you use plastic, fill up a tank of gas, buy an airplane ticket, did you get consent from the people whose air, land, and water your actions pollute and deplete? Do you think you should? Do you wish people who polluted and depleted your world had tried to get your consent?

It’s natural to think of our environmental problems as issues of science, technology, or markets. We learned of them from scientists. Technologists and business people said they could solve them, but they’re social. The environment isn’t changing on its own. We’re changing it. Pollution destroys life, liberty, and property, mentioned throughout the US Constitution. We feel anxiety not from an effectively abstract “climate,” but because people can unilaterally destroy our[…] Keep reading →

This post may look like it’s about poor people and free food but it’s about our culture. I’ve heard this quote several times at the community fridge where I volunteer: “There’s no food here, just vegetables.” I help deliver a lot of vegetables from the farmers market. People coming to get free food tend to prefer pre-made meals and doof. I recommend reflecting on what the statement means and implies.[…] Keep reading →