Leadership

I posted the other day Bill Gates and environmental leadership on how he is undermining his own attempts at leadership in the environment that anyone would see as blatant if he acted similarly around the pandemic. We excuse his pollution and overconsuming because we want what he gets for them, like travel and mansions. A friend quoted a relevant passage from his book. I'll post my thoughts on reading the passage, then the passage. My thoughts on Gates's passage I see Martin Luther King paying others to go to jail in civil disobedience extra to offset his doing what he considers more important. Gates sees stewardship as a burden, deprivation, sacrifice, distraction. He doesn't want to do it. He has no idea what he's talking…

Did you see Bill Gates's TED talk on pandemics from 2015, years before Covid? He foretold what scientists had predicted for decades and we came to see unfold around us. From the pandemic's start, he spoke on the news on the importance of wearing a mask. Imagine if after speaking about masks, he held a party for hundreds of people in close quarters, none of them wearing a mask. From a numerical standpoint, one person's actions or even hundreds', even Bill Gates and his friends, hardly matter out of 7.8 billion. Only governments and corporations could change things at that level. Of course, that "logic" is nonsense. Even without his resources and connections, we all influence people around us. Suggesting wearing masks and then flouting…

Where Is the World Going, Mr. Stiglitz? I saw a dvd at the library called Where Is the World Going To, Mr. Stiglitz and recognized the name and face of, Joseph Stiglitz, honoree of the economics Nobel and professor at Columbia Business School, where I got my MBA and friends took his course so I felt connected. Libraries lend for free, so I borrowed it, not knowing what to expect. I loved it---amazingly, because it was over six hours of an economist just talking to the camera. I normally don't enjoy economics, but I loved how he presented things---simply, directly, and enthusiastically. Below a short description of that video, I present something of my version of describing my views on sustainability, speaking Eugene Bible, host…

"What really has to happen is governments and corporations have to change." People say it all the time. Do they think they're helping? Duh! Of course. We knew that already. Everyone knows that. That's the goal. When they change, we only have to implement---a big challenge, but swimming downstream, not upstream. It's as pointless as to say What really has to happen is we have to score more points than the other team. or . . . we have to create a better product and market it better than the competition. Thanks for stating the obvious, smartypants! They're implying and often outright say, "individual actions don't matter," but dig deep to understand why they're saying something so obvious is what they're really abdicating responsibility, communicating:…

"Our environmental problems are so big, individual actions don't matter. Only governments and corporations can make a difference." I've come to see this view as backward. Governments and corporations are causing the problems. They are what we have to change. If we wait for them to act, we will lose. When you recognize that we have to motivate them to act, you realize they are the problem. I include universities too. I hope this message helps change the situation. Eventually government, corporations, and universities will become a part of the solution so I believe we as individuals have to work to influence them and never let up. Like moving the rudder of a supertanker shows no visible change, but hours later thee boat is moving…

Eugene Bible of the Verdant Growth videocast and soon host of a This Sustainable Life podcast offshoot hosted me on sustainability leadership. (Stay tuned for his podcast launch). Speaking communicates differently than writing, so you'll hear me express things I can't hear, plus I cover many things I haven't covered here at all. It's interactive so not just me talking. I recommend checking it out. It's one conversation split into four parts. We cover environmental stewardship from several perspectives, beyond what any book or video I know of does. I hope more accessible since we don't just talk more science or what other people should do. We talk about how to lead on sustainability. https://youtu.be/F7HY3JIdKP0 https://youtu.be/1ESSZWQ0TwY https://youtu.be/gOv-GHN6YGU https://youtu.be/OlaYguR6i5Q

People said they looked forward to 2020 ending. They wanted to return to normalcy. They didn't like 2020 because they compared it to 2019. I compare 2020 to 2021 and beyond. I expect the trend will continue and we'll miss 2020's relative calm. Politically, I expect more unity and less strife, as I can't imagine Biden exacerbating division as Trump did. I see the pandemic as an environmental problem. People have said "when, not if" for decades. We know how pathogens mutate and jump to humans---encroaching on wildlife territory, environments like wet markets, and factory farming. Nearly none of our response has been to stop what causes pandemics. We have as much reason to say "when, not if" for another, on top of the new…

Did you know the phrase "Don't mess with Texas" arose from a campaign to stop litter? Neither did I. Check out these videos showing celebrities acting against litter, even picking it up. Now you can join us in picking up litter, even daily, as I've done for years, making it TV for it twice and counting. Note, however, that picking up litter only moves it around. It doesn't reduce the amount of waste. Not buying it in the first place reduces. Many waste producers like to suggest managing waste after manufacture can resolve our waste problems. Not even close. Only producing less, even zero, starts solving the problem, though we have to figure out what to do with the plastic and other waste already poisoning…

This graphic tempts you to think having fewer children is the best you can do, dwarfing not flying or going vegetarian, but I'll describe below how you can do a lot more. More than personal actions Everyone gets that one person's actions round to zero on a global scale. I agree. I act consistent with my values as a matter of integrity. Making a difference on a global scale comes from leading others. Leading people You can't reduce your number of children below how many you have now, but you can influence others to smaller families. Learning and practicing leadership skills, besides improving your life, enable you to support others to live more by their values. If their values align so they want a smaller…

Here is how what we call leadership in the area of sustainability would look in another area. Imagine you attend an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. One person stands up in front and says, "I've read all about what alcohol does to the liver. I'm an expert. Here's what you should do." This person continues lecturing on the science of alcohol and the liver and what everyone should do. This person also has a bottle of gin in hand, regularly taking a swig saying, "Don't be distracted by what I do. What one person does doesn't matter. We have to get governments and corporations to change. They want you to focus on me to keep the heat off them." Cheap booze The rest of the group then…