I finished a few papers, books, and videos by Bjorn Lomborg lately, as well as books that refer to or rely on his work, like Superabundance and The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels. I follow up most books and movies I finish and find meaningful by reading and watching reviews, commentaries, criticisms (positive, negative, and other), and more. My criticism of Lomborg’s work stands independent of the accuracy of his[…] Keep reading →

I talk about this effect a lot in person because it keeps amazing me, not that it’s particularly insightful, but I love nature and this effect is part of it. If the temperature drops below 50F (10C) in September, I shiver and can barely stand it. I have to bundle up. Then in December it drops below freezing and 50F feels warm. I’m commenting on it now because we’re in[…] Keep reading →

The choice to avoid depriving others of life, liberty, and property without due process of law, even though our government is not enforcing our Constitution, means choosing to pollute and deplete less, which means being more connected to nature and its rhythms. Winter is colder and darker than the rest of the year. The earth’s tilt makes it straightforward to know the darkest day of the year: the solstice, December[…] Keep reading →

I searched “comprehensive list of environmental solutions.” The results search results showed nothing meaningful or helpful. Before continuing, I should point out what prompted that search was writing my next book, which does present a solution, not only to our environmental problems, but to things that result from it, such as corruption, tyranny, racism, addiction, despair, and more. So I don’t feel despair or anxiety from pointing out that not[…] Keep reading →

I’ve been posting my usual posts on Christmas Pagan trees. Here’s a picture of my alternative and the story behind it. In conversation with alumni from my workshops (which I recommend you take), one mentioned all you need to do to grow garlic is stick a clove in the dirt and water it. Could it be that easy? It wasn’t hard to try. I did it the other day and[…] Keep reading →

Folks, I’m not looking for them. People are throwing so many trees before Christmas, what am I supposed to do, act like they aren’t there? Am I supposed to accept that we chop down trees just to put them in our homes for a few days, not even connected to the holiday they aren’t connected to? Doesn’t this one look beautiful, wrapped in disgusting plastic? What a way to honor[…] Keep reading →

I guess people think we have too many trees, or maybe they have too much money. I’m not looking for trees people throw away before Christmas, but I can’t miss them. I figure they’re like roaches: if you see one, there are probably ten others you don’t see. I saw these four last night: Sorry for the blur in the second one below. It was dark and cold.

Today is the shortest day of the year, with the sun at its lowest angle at noon. Using only photovoltaic solar power, today I get the least potential for energy. It’s less cloudy than usual, so I’ll get some power, but a tall building a block south of mine blocks the sun for most of the morning. Actually, low buildings do too. Here’s a schematic illustration: Here’s a more detailed[…] Keep reading →

I can’t believe how little value people place on trees. Each year I ask myself if I want to bother taking all those pictures of trees people throw away. Am I going to change culture this way? I doubt it. Then again, I’m not hurting anyone and I’m going to post daily anyway. Then I see another Christmas Pagan tree being thrown out well before Christmas. This one appears denuded.[…] Keep reading →