I don’t have to tell you that front page headlines are reporting how students across the country are protesting. Universities are struggling with how to respond. The university I got my (five) diplomas from, Columbia University, seems to be making some of the biggest headlines. A few days ago it decided to cancel its commencement. I started college in 1988. Many students then opposed Apartheid. I boycotted businesses that did[…] Keep reading →

Have you hit rock bottom on the environment? The question isn’t if the problems are grave enough or you know about them. You’ve seen enough problems from litter on your street to a region called Cancer Alley in the most technologically advanced nation in history and front-page news nearly daily. The question of you hitting rock bottom is if you choose no longer to accept your rationalizations and justifications of[…] Keep reading →

I recently finished Bruce Springsteen’s memoir Born to Run. Below is what resonated with me and motivated me most: Bruce Springsteen wrote in his memoir Born to Run about discovering the guitar growing up in a working-class New Jersey neighborhood. The day after seeing Elvis on the Ed Sullivan Show, “I convinced my mom to take me to Diehl’s Music on South Street in Freehold. There, with no money to[…] Keep reading →

I’ve shared Eugene’s public postings of his experience doing the exercises in my book Initiative. At each stage, he learns more about himself and making his world work for him. Taking initiative forces you to learn your values, not in some abstract way, but: How do I want to spend my time, money, energy, and resources? How long do I want to follow other people’s values, or the worn path[…] Keep reading →

I teach at NYU and work on sustainability leadership. NYU talks about sustainability and to some extend sincerely tries, but it doesn’t come close to its rhetoric. It completely misses on sustainability leadership, as distinct from sustainability. I don’t see much integrity in its sustainability. The same follows for higher education in general, as best I can tell. I’ve been vaguely keeping track of discrepancies I find. I’ve had this[…] Keep reading →

I’ve been writing about volunteering. Then last month I found this certificate for distinguished service in college in 1993 cleaning out my father’s basement and had to share the story behind it. A church near Columbia on 114th Street and Broadway served a soup kitchen. I volunteered there every Friday. I just went on my own. Partly I consider activities like it as civic duty. Also I find it rewarding.[…] Keep reading →

Cleaning out my father’s basement, I found my junior high school yearbook. Not really a yearbook, but a book with pictures of each class. Here’s my class: Can you tell which one is me? Is it hard to tell? I can’t tell you how often people have told me I don’t know what it’s like to live as a minority. This year wasn’t my only such year. Here is the[…] Keep reading →

I was reading the introduction to the book Climate Liberalism about classical liberal approaches to environmental problems. A sentence in the opening paragraph said, “The last half century has seen substantial environmental progress as human lifespans have increased, poverty has declined, and Malthusian fears of resource depletion have been dispelled” with a footnote “For a compendium of human progress along these (and other) lines, see Marian L. Tupy and Gale[…] Keep reading →

I’ve held off on writing this post since I think some people may misunderstand me. My goal is to help raise self-awareness. NYU has posted posters like this one all over campus. I think they are mostly responding to the Israel-Hamas situation, though could apply to others. I grew up not learning much about emotions or making myself aware of them. Leadership classes in business school moved me to increase[…] Keep reading →