Nature

Go to a doctor with back pain and you may learn the cause was shoes you wore last week. The body is a complex system. Complex systems work differently than we expect. You can push it one way today and it may respond a day later by moving in a different direction. With a bicycle, pressing down on a pedal---just one element---moves the whole system forward---a different direction than you pressed. We're used to that system. Few of us are familiar with the environment and pollution. Where Does Litter Come From? Having picked up litter daily for over four years, I've pondered on where litter comes from. It's easy to say the hand of the person who dropped it, but that source is only proximal.…

Normally I post original writing and avoid sharing facts and figures, since I find they don't motivate, but I found a few charts relevant to population. Now I can't remember where I got them from---I think the Population Media Center (PMC), where podcast guest and role model Bill Ryerson works. I presume most people know numbers like the ones below, or if they don't, they know enough to act, but maybe you don't, and maybe their clarity will be the last bit you needed to act. To me, the evidence is overwhelming and more than enough to make the priority for everyone to commit to things like never accepting a plastic bag again, nor paper, nor bottled water, Gatorade, soda, or nearly anything. You wouldn't…

I'm increasingly calling out that recycling is a scam. When I go out to pick up my daily litter, if I see something recyclable near a recycling bin, I'll put it in recycling, but nearly always the litter in question never needed to exist and makes life worse, like a soda bottle, chips wrapper, or other doof container. If I stumble on a situation someone else created that creates litter, I'll pick it up, but that the person considered the thing recyclable probably motivated him or her to buy it. In other words, the fantasy that something can be recycled motivates people to use it more. That's why Coca-Cola, Dunkin' Donuts, and their peers promote recycling. Trader Joe's cravenly incorporates "recycled," "recyclable," and the like…

People say, "only governments and corporations can make a difference." Here's a version of the Addiction Speaking from a magazine piece, "Focusing on how individuals can stop climate change is very convenient for corporations": While individuals may have a role to play, appealing to individual virtues for addressing climate change is something akin to victim-blaming because it shifts the burden from those who ought to act to those who are most likely to be affected by climate change. A far more just and effective approach would be to hold those who are responsible for climate change accountable for their actions. Do you see the false dichotomy, that either individuals act or we change corporations? Always "not me, not now"—the opposite of responsibility. On the contrary,…