The video shows me cooking, fermenting, climbing, setting panels up, volunteering, picking up litter, and more. They recorded hours of footage. I like what they edited and only wish they could include more. For example, pulling the cart, I was bringing overstock, perfectly good food to the community center for people to pick up free. My favorite moments they couldn’t include: See the text from the video below. A few[…] Keep reading →

I see American culture moving toward increasing isolation. Compared to any time in human existence, we spend more time alone. Our paltry amount of skin-to-skin contact between parents and infants might be considered child abuse in other cultures. We talk about visiting other cultures, but even when in-person, we generally look at them from the outside through curated experiences like going to zoos. All that visiting is homogenizing culture more[…] Keep reading →

If doing something kills people and you don’t want to kill people, you have to stop doing that thing. I’m not talking about morality or suggesting guilt or blame. I’m saying something as simple as if you don’t want to break a glass, don’t drop it on the ground. This situation couldn’t be simpler, at least for people who don’t want to kill other people. If stopping doing that thing[…] Keep reading →

We passed the spring equinox so there’s more light to read and work by. Barring injury or big equipment failure, I’ll make a year soon. You can do in your life what I did in mine. You are not powerless to use less power. You’ll be glad you did.

I was invited to speak on sustainability leadership on Matt Matern’s radio show A Climate Change. I think he was surprised at some of my approaches or found them not like other guests, in that I focus less on technology and legislation in favor of culture and people. Click to listen to the episode Each week we talk about the environment and what we can do to make a difference[…] 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 →

Rob and Andrew, hosts of America Out Loud’s radio show and podcast After Dark, hosted me. I’ve been on their podcast and they’ve been on mine. I think I can safely say we’ve become friends across political divides, exactly the sort that everyone annoyed by today’s polarization. The episode is titled Living the Simple Life Off the Grid With Josh Spodek. Here’s the audio: We spoke about Here are the[…] Keep reading →

I’ve meant to collect the top principles in sustainability leadership, the things I say nearly daily and govern embracing living sustainably. “Nothing is more damaging to you than to do something you believe is wrong.” — Abraham Lincoln Systemic change begins with personal change. You tell me what you fear losing most and I’ll tell you exactly what you’ll get more of. You can’t lead someone else to live by[…] 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 →