Paul Ehrlich died two weeks ago. I read The Population Bomb a while ago and heard him speak in many interviews. I recently listened again to a few recordings of his and read a few articles of him. In each he was speaking to people who liked him and agreed with him so he spoke freely. In each he called people who disagreed with him “idiots” or something like “people[…] Keep reading →

People consistently say they don’t do what they believe is right regarding pollution and depletion because it won’t change the system. I point out that independent of what anyone else does, their personal pollution and depletion will hurt people who have not consented. They rarely even minimally decrease their pollution and depletion. I’m curious what people think they would have done under slavery, the Holocaust, Stalinism, or other dominance hierarchy.[…] Keep reading →

This post shares a long series of legitimizing myths. Why cover these beliefs so comprehensively? Recall the response of a wise person who was asked, “If you had one hour to save the world, how would you spend it?” The reply: “I would spend 55 minutes defining the problem and 5 minutes solving it.” Another wise person said, “If I had 4 hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend[…] Keep reading →

I may update the acronym, but I’ve created one for my upcoming book that I’ve found relevant to many people’s views on pollution, depletion, and the prospect of life and culture without either. I’ve found useful the acronym TYMCALM (pronounced: Tim-calm, for “That’s Your Mind Creating A Legitimizing Myth”) useful for when people respond reflexively to rationalize or justify a behavior that violates their values. For example, when I say[…] Keep reading →

I think I usually write about important topics, but I like to share silly things my mind ponders. I think it builds self-awareness. I don’t know how the following situation will seem to a reader, but I hope it reads as it feels to me playing with ideas: being curious. I brush my teeth after dinner, before going to bed. Sometimes after dinner I also need to poop. I figure[…] Keep reading →

A friend of mine who is also friends with Scott Galloway emailed me about Galloway’s initiative to influence politics by changing consumer behavior. The initiative aims to lead people to stop doing business with companies that influence politics he and his followers disagree with. Context Galloway calls it “Resist and Unsubscribe.” Our mutual friend’s email included screen shots of his cancelling his accounts with Amazon, X, and ChatGPT. He included[…] Keep reading →

Artificial intelligence is just the latest instance of a technology that, by polluting and depleting, deprive people of life, liberty, and property without due process of law. People think of the perks it might bring them despite violating the Constitution. So they convince themselves that it will actually benefit those it hurts. They can’t say exactly how, but they think if we just use more of it, it will somehow[…] Keep reading →

I’ve meant to start developing a view for a while but I keep not starting because I haven’t fully developed it. I’m going to bite the bullet and write a few ideas down, not yet complete and coherent. Sorry if it ends up confusing. When the internet was starting to become mainstream, say the 1990s, people looked forward to it democratizing communication compared to the press and broadcast since anyone[…] Keep reading →

People ask me all the time things like “how do you get by without flying?”, “How do you get by without a contract with the power company?”, and “how do you get by producing so little trash?” I know they’re thinking about material things and mainstream values of acquiring more stuff even at the expense of relationships so from their perspective I’m depriving myself and sacrificing. From my perspective, I’m[…] Keep reading →