Last week I posted about Why many litterers are entitled and one way the most entitled justify littering. People, including poor and homeless people, justify littering and try to stop me from cleaning up litter. They say other people are paid to do it, so it’s okay and right to leave plastic cups and food containers on the ground, then walk way. The result: on pleasant days, my neighborhood looks[…] Keep reading →

I wrote recently in When changing fast is easier than slow about the growth in number of slaves in the United States based on a peer-reviewed paper From ‘20 and odd’ to 10 million: The growth of the slave population in the United States, by J. David Hacker in the journal Slavery & Abolition. That paper also reported the cumulative number of slaves in the United States. Before looking at[…] Keep reading →

I’ve written about taking several courses at the Leadership Institute. Conservatism 101 recommended a lot of historical videos to augment their lectures. Though I finished the course a while ago, I took a while to finish the videos. If interested, here they are. I didn’t grow up learning these views. Adults around me during my childhood seemed to view, say, Phyllis Schlafly, as weird and devious: why would a woman[…] Keep reading →

I recommend this podcast if you like my work and learning more of where my passion comes from. Srikanth, the host, prompted me to share my origin story and describe the Spodek Method. I haven’t appeared on another podcast for a while, so I share things I’ve been developing how to communicate but haven’t. Available on all podcast platforms: From the show notes: Joshua Spodek is a sustainability advocate whose[…] Keep reading →

For those readers who haven’t signed up to my mailing list, every Monday I send a newsletter of the past week’s posts. For the newsletter’s introduction, I write what amounts to another post, usually a summary, reflection, or noting the highlights. I felt last week’s introduction merited being a post of its own. Here it is: I almost forgot to post that I started my third year off the grid[…] Keep reading →

Here are some projections for global warming based on various assumptions. Note the slow changes, which presumes people not changing our behaviors. The great historical example of changing global culture is abolitionism. It took off first in places without slavery in the territory, like Europe. One of the most challenging places to end the institution was the United States, which profited from it so much, though Europe was happy to[…] Keep reading →

I’ve written about how the construction my building is doing means no roof access for likely over six months: I’ve been trying to find other rooftops I can use so I don’t have to carry the equipment so far, risking bumps or drops. I can’t leave the panels unwatched to go to the bathroom or work elsewhere when it gets hot. So far I’ve asked the following, politely, offering to[…] Keep reading →

The biggest pushes I see among environmentalists and everyone trying to solve environmental problems are to promote Their hope in these efforts is to lower fossil fuel uses. I support their intent, though not their unintended consequences. Does anyone else see the problems? None of these tactics stop using or extracting fossil fuels. Making anything that uses fossil fuels more efficient doesn’t stop using them. It may use them less[…] Keep reading →

On May 24, 2022, I opened the main circuit to the electric grid, disconnecting my apartment from it. Two days before I had unplugged my appliances but noticed the outlets next to sinks have LEDs to show they’re safe. Despite what part-time vegetarians say, I don’t believe that not zero is zero, so to consume zero power, including those LEDs, I disconnected the whole apartment. My goal was not using[…] Keep reading →