There’s no two ways about it: Flying = Funding Lobbyists Not just lobbyists, fossil fuel lobbyists. Flying lines their pockets, along with the pockets of executives and shareholders of the fossil fuel-extracting companies that own them. It’s 93F (34C) in Manhattan and not yet 11am. Congratulations to those who fly, buy plastic, and buy things needlessly shipped across oceans in container ships, like cars, fast fashion, and food that isn’t[…] Keep reading →

Researching more for my upcoming book and planning to write opinion pieces, I’m learning more limited government, free market thought and practice relevant to sustainability and the environment. It’s relevant beyond anything I expected. If only people asked questions of people they disagreed with and listened to their answers in 2024 as much as they tried to convince and defeat, we’d have solved a lot of problems where we mutually[…] Keep reading →

On May 24, 2022, I opened the main circuit to the electric grid, disconnecting my apartment from it. Two days before I had unplugged my appliances but noticed the outlets next to sinks have LEDs to show they’re safe. Despite what part-time vegetarians say, I don’t believe that not zero is zero, so to consume zero power, including those LEDs, I disconnected the whole apartment. My goal was not using[…] Keep reading →

I was reading an account of Martin Luther King during the Montgomery Bus Boycott and noticed how a few things he said, often quoting or paraphrasing Jesus, applied to today. The big one was “He who lives by the sword dies by the sword,” which doesn’t seem a stretch to say those who live by pollution die by pollution. Despite everyone saying their flying does so much good it’s worth[…] Keep reading →

Environmentalists talk about the possibility of a future collapse. They talk about the harm happening far away. I don’t want to take away from those problems and risks, but they are missing what’s happening here and now with all of us. We can’t look our children in the eye and tell them they’ll live in a safer, healthier, more secure world. Since we can’t, we tell them what we do[…] Keep reading →

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 →

I attended an event last week in which the organizers began with a land acknowledgment. I’d guess most of you have witnessed one, though maybe not all. According to Wikipedia: A land acknowledgement or territorial acknowledgement is a formal statement that acknowledges the original Indigenous Peoples of the land, spoken at the beginning of public events. The custom of land acknowledgement is a traditional practice that dates back centuries in[…] Keep reading →