I was out in the park along the Hudson River picking juneberries. Not only was the food not packaged, I picked them myself. They’re incredibly delicious. The tree evolved to provide fruit to be eaten. I saw a lot of people picnicking on the grass, eating at the outdoor bar in the park, and eating while they walked. Every piece of food or beverage I saw them eating was bought[…] Keep reading →

If “transition” means we stop using the old fuel then there has never been an energy transition. You can hear more details when I post my next episode with Mark Mills, but it deserves more publicity. I recorded with him again after reading his recent piece We’ll Never Have an Energy Transition, in City Journal from the Manhattan Institute. I find his results compelling, as always. Every fuel we’ve ever[…] Keep reading →

We have never decreased using any fuels. When we find new energy sources, we use the old one and the new one. Our plans to increase solar and wind have nothing to do with lowering fossil fuel use. This ordering doesn’t work: The only ordering which can work: (Though, according to Adam Smith and the US founders, we don’t need to create new energy sources to create the most opulent[…] Keep reading →

You probably know about the effect called the tragedy of the commons. The classic case is shepherds and a common grassy area. If each lets their sheep graze so they consume grass as fast as it grows, then each has the incentive to graze more, privatizing the extra profit while everyone else loses a smaller amount, but if all do it, everyone loses. Here is Wikipedia’s definition: The tragedy of[…] Keep reading →

I’ve written before that if you do something that kills people and you don’t want to kill people, you have to stop doing that thing, even if you like it. That sentence seems about as matter of fact as you can get. It’s not designed to make anyone feel guilty. That polluting and depleting kill people isn’t an open question. We all pollute and deplete. Come to think of it,[…] Keep reading →

I don’t know what it’s like where you are, but in New York, people talk about psychedelic drugs a lot. Everyone is talking about microdosing (probably not as much as in California), going to shamans in Peru for ayahuasca, and so on. People describe the value of the experiences as life changing. I’m prompted by a recent New Yorker piece This Is Your Priest on Drugs: Dozens of religious leaders[…] Keep reading →

I wrote this letter to the editor of the New Yorker. It’s been long enough that I doubt they’ll print it, but I wanted to share my thoughts. Using nuclear and, if it ever works, fusion today is like someone in the 1950s throwing a plastic plate into the ocean, figuring, “The ocean is so big and the plate is so small, what difference could it make even if everyone[…] Keep reading →

I just read a series of articles in the Economist analyzing the effect they predict artificial intelligence will have on the environment. They started by calculating the costs to build the computers and train the algorithms. They calculated the costs to operate the computers, which was much greater. Then they started writing about how people would use AI to increase efficiencies in grids, factories, transportation, and so on. When people[…] Keep reading →

I just found a video of one of the workshops I led at Drew Gardens. I can’t believe I thought I lost it. If you’ve wondered how I make my famous no-packaging vegan solar-powered stews, watch the workshop: Some Reviews Read more reviews here, but some examples: When Josh first invited me over for stew, I didn’t jump at the opportunity. I recall thinking that a quickly prepared meal of[…] Keep reading →