I generally define sustainability as not lowering the amount of multicellular life earth can sustain. Single-celled life turns out to comprise a lot of life and our behavior may not affect it, but I’m partial to humans and the life we depend on, like other animals, plants, and fungi. Humans have decreased the amount of life. If sustainability keeps the number unchanged, it’s like a zero net affect. Unsustainability means[…] Keep reading →

Some problems are like a mosquito. It may bother and annoy you, but usually not enough to keep you from what you’re doing. Say you’re walking and a mosquito bothers you. You may swat at it and try to kill it, but you can generally keep doing what you were doing. Many people see our environmental symptoms as mosquito problems. They see them as bothersome, but not enough to turn[…] Keep reading →

Since people describe me as “extreme” so often, I experiment with how to respond since I don’t use the measure they do. They compare me with people around them—that is, with culture. I consider how my behavior affects others. I don’t want to hurt innocent people. My book treats the relationship between our culture and slavery, with the main difference that the cruelty of today’s culture is much greater than[…] Keep reading →

People are going to read their preconceptions into what I’m asking, so if my question of this post seems provocative or you think it implies I’m promoting or espousing views, you’re misreading. There’s a pattern I see often. One example was last weekend at an alumni event at Columbia University. Former US Attorney General Eric Holder spoke. He’s a Democrat and liberal. As best I can tell, so were most[…] Keep reading →

I recently hit on the following observations. I shared them with a few people with experience in the overlap of experience in leading, science, and living more sustainably. They understood the concepts after some explanation, but suggested they wouldn’t be accessible to many people outside that zone. I’m not sure how many people they’ll make sense to, but I consider them big discoveries. Some day I’ll write essays on each.[…] Keep reading →

You know the usual schematic diagram of the greenhouse effect. Here are a couple for reference: and What’s missing? Humans creating power for ourselves creates heat. It happens if we create it through burning fossil fuels, using nuclear power, and even fusion. Using solar panels absorbs extra heat. I hope you respond that whatever heat we produce is negligible. Today it is, but since industry and our current lifestyles require[…] Keep reading →

Since I’ve been studying so much American history and seeing American presidents as role models, I couldn’t help stumbling on a characterization of my development. Before I acted, when I knew the problems with pollution and depletion but contributed to them as much as everyone around me, I was like Thomas Jefferson speaking about freedom while owning slaves. Today I still pollute and deplete, but far less than before. I’m[…] Keep reading →

What role in the Star Wars universe best describes you, your nation, or your culture? I think most people would like to think of themselves as Luke, Leia, or someone in the rebellion against the empire. Or someone outside that conflict, maybe just living on their own. Let’s see. Context: A culture living unsustainably means it will run out of at least one necessary resource. If it can trade for[…] Keep reading →

Did America’s founders know they’d win in 1774, say, at the time of the Intolerable Acts? Did the other colonists? Did people think independence was possible? Nobody knew. Probably most would bet against their fighting the greatest empire in history. We who work on changing culture to sustainability are like America’s founders in 1774. Obviously I’m not saying exactly. There are many differences, but in that we are taking on[…] Keep reading →