People jump to treating our environmental problems as rooted in science, therefore they look for solutions from scientists. I’m seeing the problem more as social than scientific in the following way. First, I want to clarify that understanding the mechanisms by which Earth’s ecosystems are changed depend on science. I’m not challenging that we understand the mechanisms through observation, experiment, debate, and the other tools of science. When I pollute[…] Keep reading →

On my seventh appearance on After Dark with Rob and Andrew, I share how I’ve been diving into conservative history, thought, philosophy, and community. Both hosts have been on my podcast and I meet Rob periodically in person in Manhattan, where he lives too. About the hosts: Rob is the founder of The Multicultural Conservative Foundation, whose mission is to promote the political diversity of conservatism through social media. He[…] Keep reading →

I see the statement Everyone should change except me. as one that defines our time. We recognize the problems. Like traffic, we all contribute to them, but also like traffic, we feel like they—other people—cause it and we’re caught in a mess of their making. Of course we cause traffic as much as anyone. We cause our cultural and environmental problems too. We could change.

I’ve described what I’m doing practicing sustainability as being an explorer, the Wright brothers, and Roger Bannister. Each comparison had sense, but I think I found a better one: Being like Richard Fosbury creating the Fosbury Flop. He invented a better way to do the high jump. The videos below show how people did it before him and how he developed a new way. Compared to old ways, it looked[…] Keep reading →

I finally found how to describe how the New Yorker and other outlets covered me: I’m pointing to a brighter future. They keep looking at my hand. The New Yorker wrote how I have dirt under my fingernails, which you get when you dig deep. I can’t blame anyone. It’s no one else’s responsibility for me to be understood. My book should help change this outcome, where I can clarify[…] Keep reading →

Dietrich Bonhoeffer lived in a culture whose values he disagreed with. He could have dropped his values. It would be easier and more comfortable not to have to push against resistance. He didn’t. He chose to live by his values, even when it was hard. One result was that he couldn’t spend time with his family in person. Did that separation mean they loved each other less? Did it deprive[…] Keep reading →

I wrote the notes below while watching the documentary Bonhoeffer (2003) directed by Martin Doblmaier. I want to learn from history to apply what people did to now. I don’t want to sleepwalk into disaster that everyone can see happening. The tens of millions of people dying today annually from pollution and being displaced from their homes to get the fuel and minerals under their land are being killed not[…] Keep reading →