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 →

How many people who promote solar and wind as “clean,” “green,” and “renewable” have extensive experience with them? They have a lot going for them, but have a lot of problems. I’m in my fifth year relying only on solar for my electrical power at home. I haven’t plugged an appliance to an outlet in that time, though I did charge my computer and phone from outlets at NYU for[…] Keep reading →

Today is the shortest day of the year, with the sun at its lowest angle at noon. Using only photovoltaic solar power, today I get the least potential for energy. It’s less cloudy than usual, so I’ll get some power, but a tall building a block south of mine blocks the sun for most of the morning. Actually, low buildings do too. Here’s a schematic illustration: Here’s a more detailed[…] Keep reading →

The winter solstice is in one month. During the summer if I need to charge, I can go to the roof any time from around 8am to 8pm, weather permitting. This time of year, the sun only rises high enough to charge from about 9am to maybe 3pm. It’s cold. It’s windier so I can’t leave the panels alone because if the wind catches them, they blow like a sail.[…] Keep reading →

I’ve been increasingly realizing and pointing out that I am not an environmentalist. I surprised myself to discover it. I had long felt misunderstood when people asked, “If you like nature so much, why don’t you go to the woods live in nature?” It had long been obvious to me that we needed to change culture, not escape it, and New York is an influential cultural center. Then I checked[…] Keep reading →