People keep suggesting that markets will adjust to scarcity. Sometimes, but not always, especially when innovation and technology develop faster than they can react. For example, with fishing, we develop tools to find fish with sonar and satellites, other tools to haul them in better, improved boats, tools to unload and ship them, and so on. The short-term result: we increase the fish hauls even as fish populations drop. The[…] Keep reading →

I like free markets. I wish we had them, but as far as meat is concerned, we don’t seem to. Here is a chart of Subsidies for Meat Production From Industrialized Countries (OECD Members), Estimates for 2012, in Billions of Dollars. Can we end this corporate welfare? And here are Current Worldwide Annual Meat Consumption per capita. I didn’t realize the U.S. would stand out so much. I thought Brazil[…] Keep reading →

Here’s our second livecast, following up our first livecast on sustainability leadership with Evelyn Wallace. You’ll see me cooking one of my famous no-packaging vegan solar-powered stews. You’ll see it impromptu, as I hadn’t prepared. The sun shone for the first time in three days, so I squeezed in some charging time until just before starting, so instead of our planned conversation, we talked while I prepared stew.

I recently asked Is the greatest impediment to someone living more sustainably their resources, especially time and money? and formed the hypothesis that people with money and time are both the biggest cause of our environmental problems and resist changing the most. I’m just developing the approach and understanding, but predict and expect it will become a major point in where to focus our efforts. Going to the Amazon or[…] Keep reading →

This realization hit me this morning. It will seem counterintuitive, especially to people living in overdeveloped countries. The majority of people in them see people suffering from environmental destruction and want to focus on helping them. We should help them, but we should realize they aren’t causing the problems. The more resources, especially time and money, someone has, the harder it is for them to stop polluting and depleting. Almost[…] Keep reading →

I had to comment on two remarkable sights from the deep-sea sailing lesson I posted pictures from yesterday. The first was when I came back on deck after the sun had set all the way. I saw countless stars for the first time in years. From Manhattan, on a good night I can see a dozen stars through the chemical pollution lit from below by light pollution. Don’t get me[…] Keep reading →

Evelyn took my Spodek Method workshop in the spring, then was the TA for the two summer sessions and will lead the fall workshop. Everything else you need to know about her background is in the video below. She’s transforming herself and diving into sustainability, loving the challenges and changes. We approach it similarly but differently. Most of all, we enjoy each other’s company and riffing off each other. We[…] Keep reading →