Category Archives: Addiction

We’re going to need truth and reconciliation committees when we acknowledge the consequences of our actions

on May 30, 2024 in Addiction, Nonjudgment

Most Americans and residents of industrialized countries do many things daily that hurt other people through the environment. They act and talk as if they don’t know their Starbucks cup has anything to do with ocean plastic, but they know it. How do I know they know? Because they get defensive (or offensive) when someone brings it up. If I tell people I like oatmeal for breakfast, no one gets[…] Keep reading →

Restaurants and caterers hate vegetables

on May 13, 2024 in Addiction, Fitness, Nature

Since I’ve learned to love fresh vegetables and fruit, I’ve come to learn the restaurants hate them. Caterers do too. An ex-girlfriend once commented that she couldn’t go to restaurants with me because I complained too much that they covered everything in salt, sugar, and fat (more on that complaint below). I attended an event today that was catered. Everything was vegan, which a lot of people interpret to mean[…] Keep reading →

How to fail at transitioning from fossil fuels

on May 2, 2024 in Addiction, Choosing/Decision-Making, Nature

First, let’s imagine solar, wind, hydroelectric, fission, or fusion were “clean,” “green,” or “renewable.” They aren’t, but for the sake of understanding, we’ll imagine they are, so if we transitioned to them from fossil fuels, society could live indefinitely on them. What Doesn’t Work Everyone is acting as if we can ramp up “clean,” “green,” and “renewable” energies until we don’t need fossil fuels, then we can ramp down fossil[…] Keep reading →

Vegetables taste delicious. Why cover them in oil?

on April 27, 2024 in Addiction, Fitness

I ate lunch at a restaurant with a friend yesterday. Lunch was great because of the company. The salad that came with it was covered in oil. I used to dislike vegetables. I covered them in dressing. I was partial to Italian, but ranch or French would do. I didn’t know any better. The dressings came pre-made in bottles, full of flavor. By contrast, the vegetables tasted bland. I’m talking[…] Keep reading →

The problems of sustainability as more social than scientific

on April 23, 2024 in Addiction, Freedom, Models, Nature

People jump to treating our environmental problems as rooted in science, therefore they look for solutions from scientists. I’m seeing the problem more as social than scientific in the following way. First, I want to clarify that understanding the mechanisms by which Earth’s ecosystems are changed depend on science. I’m not challenging that we understand the mechanisms through observation, experiment, debate, and the other tools of science. When I pollute[…] Keep reading →

If you’ve wondered what a fentanyl testing and overdose treatment kit looks like, we live in a culture where you can find them in the park

on April 22, 2024 in Addiction

Our culture increasingly isolates and addicts us: doof, binge-TV, social media, online gambling, and so on. We associate the most serious addiction with hard drugs, but they are just a prominent case of our culture overall. I’m not writing this post about people addicted to hard drugs. I’m writing it about modern culture. I found this fentanyl testing and overdose treatment kit while picking up litter in Washington Square Park.[…] Keep reading →

If you don’t like measuring your carbon footprint, report how much you fund extraction and lobbying

on April 19, 2024 in Addiction, Leadership, Nature, Nonjudgment

The first result on a search on bp carbon footprint was a Guardian opinion piece Big oil coined ‘carbon footprints’ to blame us for their greed. Keep them on the hook which linked to a piece in Mashsable The carbon footprint sham: A ‘successful, deceptive’ PR campaign. That piece begins: In a dark TV ad aired in 1971, a jerk tosses a bag of trash from a moving car. The[…] Keep reading →

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