I’ve done a lot of Spodek Method commitments. I’ve loved them all, at least I don’t remember disliking any, but haven’t recorded many of them here, but liked posting My Spodek Method commitment to make water ice from snow: A photo essay last month. I did another one over the weekend and took a few pictures to share. The memories of nature stemmed from Wissahickon Creek and the park around[…] Keep reading →

People dream that we’ll figure out how to keep our world as it is, just without pollution and depletion. We’ll just create new technology that does what existing technology does, but it will be “clean,” “green,” and “renewable.” Well, shoot, why didn’t people think of making technology that didn’t hurt people in the first place? What jerks, not making things “clean,” “green,” and “renewable.” Oh wait, maybe it’s not possible[…] Keep reading →

Last fall a Korean production company asked to cover my off-grid living. As usual, I tried to clarify I work on leadership applied to sustainability and that covering my solar panels would be like covering Martin Luther King’s shoe’s during the bus boycott. Media is media the world over, so they covered my staircase and dark apartment as opposed to changing global culture. Still, without understanding what they say, I[…] Keep reading →

First, I grew up in Philadelphia, and in Philadelphia, we have something called “water ice.” It’s like cheese steaks in that it’s local. I didn’t know it wasn’t universal until I moved away. Elsewhere they call something like it Italian ice, but we don’t. Here’s an article on it from USA Today: What is Philly-style water ice? We explain how it’s made and where to get it. On to the[…] Keep reading →

I lead a meditation group that meets in person a couple times a month. We’ve found we can get a laugh if we talk in the group about talking about meditation to others who don’t meditate by saying, “I can’t meditate. My mind is too crazy to empty it of thoughts,” or words to that effect. Why does it make us laugh? Because it’s like a knee-jerk reaction that betrays[…] Keep reading →

The choice to avoid depriving others of life, liberty, and property without due process of law, even though our government is not enforcing our Constitution, means choosing to pollute and deplete less, which means being more connected to nature and its rhythms. Winter is colder and darker than the rest of the year. The earth’s tilt makes it straightforward to know the darkest day of the year: the solstice, December[…] Keep reading →

I try not to complain about heavy work, especially since the physical labor I do is trivial compared to people who work for a living and I just finished One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, though I’m talking about volunteering, not work for pay. Still, over the past few days a few things conspired to make volunteering with delivering surplus food to give away to people who can[…] Keep reading →

I searched “comprehensive list of environmental solutions.” The results search results showed nothing meaningful or helpful. Before continuing, I should point out what prompted that search was writing my next book, which does present a solution, not only to our environmental problems, but to things that result from it, such as corruption, tyranny, racism, addiction, despair, and more. So I don’t feel despair or anxiety from pointing out that not[…] Keep reading →

First, context: When, over a decade ago, I started my experiment avoiding packaged food for a week, I discovered why my mind debated with itself over minutia like “should rubber bands count as packaging,” “what about stickers on fruit,” “what about food already in my cupboard,” and so on. As soon as I started, I found I could answer all those questions by doing. Most didn’t matter. Those that mattered,[…] Keep reading →