Podcast guest Brent Suter plays for his hometown team the Cincinnati Reds and the Reds played the Yankees last night in Yankee Stadium. Brent and I have recorded three episodes so far. We’ve kept in touch since recording too. I asked him if I could see him at the game. He arranged for me and some family members to meet him on the field at Yankee Stadium for batting practice[…] Keep reading →

When I tell people I haven’t filled a load of trash since 2019, before the pandemic, they often ask what’s in my trash. Instead of looking in my trash, I think it would help them more to look at their own and ask what they could not have bought. Just cutting out doof would lower their garbage by a lot. Also not buying things they don’t need or that are[…] Keep reading →

It hit me the other day while working in an NYU library. About 80 to 90 percent of students bring disposable food, doof, and beverage containers. I’d guess more than half the students are not American, meaning many of them fly home a couple times a year. In other words, they pollute more than nearly anyone who has ever lived. They act as if they don’t notice it or aren’t[…] Keep reading →

I visited with a friend recently. He had just come from working at a cafe. I asked, “If you sat down and drank coffee there, you used a mug, right? . . . not a disposable cup? He replied sheepishly, “No, I used a disposable cup. Sorry.” People keep apologizing to me for polluting. I said, “Don’t apologize to me. It barely affects me. It does, but other people more.”[…] Keep reading →

I don’t go out of my way to take these pictures. I just take them while walking along, doing my regular business. Each picture takes a second or two to take, so maybe a few minutes collectively for all the pictures I’ve taken this season. That’s how much we fill our world with garbage, or rather turn lovely trees into waste. Meanwhile, about 98 percent of old-growth forests are gone.

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.[…] Keep reading →

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: I’m sure there was more, but I think that’s most of it. I’ll add[…] Keep reading →

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[…] Keep reading →

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[…] Keep reading →