Today marked one month since I last plugged in at NYU. I made it a whole month without plugging my computer, phone, or anything else to the grid. I still used power, and plenty, taking subway trips, train trips to New Jersey and Philadelphia, and more. How? The days got longer. My skills to avoid polluting developed. The company whose power station (battery with many charging ports) I used sent[…] Keep reading →

We can’t create more time or energy. We get what we get. It doesn’t matter how much you want twenty-five hours in a day. You don’t get them. Not if you’re rich or connected either. Likewise with energy. There is only so much energy available. People can dream of unlimited energy, but they still have to eat and fill their car with gas because their energy runs out. Our culture[…] Keep reading →

I tend to think of people becoming corrupt under the influence of someone intentionally corrupting them. I tend to think of the corrupter as a mustache-twirling, self-interested person offering bribes or using other tools. I also often talk about how sustainability advocates undermine themselves by depending so much on polluting, depleting activities like flying, ordering takeout, and so on. I point out that it’s hard to impossible to lead people[…] Keep reading →

The Montgomery Bus Boycott addressed people being treated as second-class citizens; they weren’t allowed to use bus seats equally. The people harmed acted to improve their situation. They held back from using the bus for over a year, instead walking, carpooling, avoiding trips, and so on. Airplanes and the pollution and depletion they cause harm everyone in the world, though the people where the fuels and minerals are extracted, near[…] Keep reading →

Consider two cultures, one living sustainably, one unsustainably. Does the following sound familiar? The sustainable one must be living within its means. In fact, it must have some abundance to withstand an occasional flood or drought. Many cultures have survived and thrived for tens to hundreds of thousands of years. The unsustainable one is living beyond its means, decreasing what resources it needs to survive. In most cases, it can[…] Keep reading →

I love traveling, exchanging culture, visiting family, and exploring nature, which is why I will never fly again. It destroys all those things. In flying as with any addiction, people addicted experience the addiction as warm, supportive, loving, like family. You tell me what you fear losing when ending an addiction and I’ll tell you exactly what you’ll gain more of. When you stop flying, you’ll experience more traveling, exchanging[…] Keep reading →

I’ve been thinking about what legal changes I see along the lines of the Thirteenth Amendment. That amendment helped resolve the most partisan issue in the nation’s history, including hundreds of thousands of young men killed in the Civil War. Today it unites us. I envision the following proposals transforming our culture and leading to unity, though people who profit from the old ways will resist, as they did with[…] Keep reading →

I don’t know if any organizations speak for most libertarians, but I’ve been reading the pages What is a libertarian? from Libertarianism.org and the Platform of the Libertarian Party. The former begins Libertarians believe that, in politics, liberty is the most important value. Almost everyone wants freedom for themselves, but a libertarian also seeks to protect and expand the freedom of others. When people are free, we can create a more just,[…] Keep reading →

Check out this video, “Josh Spodek’s apartment disconnected from the electric grid in Manhattan on German TV”: (click the cc in the bottom right for English subtitles) (Note: I told the director over and over how the important story was the mission and strategy underneath, but journalists only cover what they can see and show so what you see is the superficial surface of my work. Journalists on the environment:[…] Keep reading →