Nature

Through voluntary, noncoercive, even fun ways, enabling couples to decide their family sizes, many nations have lowered population growth leading to prosperity, abundance, and stability. Think the opposite of the One Child Policy or eugenics. Most of us don't know these success stories. Many people would have considered such changes impossible, including myself until recently, or would have thought it resulted from a so-called demographic transition that resulted from economic growth. On the contrary, what economists think just happens in the most successful cases results from actions that people like you and me make happen. I'm starting with Thailand and Iran, two of the most successful. I'll add more as I find them. BBC's People Fixing the World Thailand's Condom King The Cheerful Revolution (1979)…

You've probably heard of vertical farms—growing crops indoors stacked as high as the entrepreneur builds. Indoors allows year-round growing, growing near where people live, saving transportation costs and pollution. It allows hydroponics and related techniques, reducing resource use. They light plants with LEDs with frequencies optimized for each plant. Despite these advantages, they face several limitations. So far, only high water, low calorie plants like lettuce, tomatoes, and herbs have proven economical. Grains and legumes cost far less to grow in traditional farms. They require a lot more energy, which the sun provide free. Do vertical farms provide a net gain? The answer requires engineering details still being worked out. Here's one line of inquiry, to give you a flavor. If the LEDs are powered…

A friend pointed out how the biggest architectural structure has changed over history and what it says about culture. After listing a few he mentioned, I'll share the one I think will come next, if we haven't already attained it. I forget the details, but since the agricultural revolution led to permanent structures the largest structures humans have created have included: Markets for trading produce---probably the first. Religious structures or tombs, like the pyramids. Military defenses. Churches and cathedrals. Bridges. Government offices. Corporate and commercial buildings. I forget what order he put them in. It's interesting to consider what the structures say about the culture they emerged from. I proposed what will come next. He didn't expect it, but found it plausible: Garbage dumps. They're…

Since unplugging the fridge and a few other changes, I revisited the online calculator I used in my post from a couple years ago, My ecological footprint. My results: I cause 0.8 tonnes of CO2 emitted annually. I'm happy to have brought it down, but I'm just one person. I intend to help change a system that makes burning fossil fuels so standard and unquestioned. Systemic change begins with personal transformation. Could I be a role model? I hope so, since my role models helped me reach this level of joyfully living sustainably. I feel like I live like a king I can't remember feeling better any time before. Partly, I miss when my body recovered faster from a tough workout, could run faster, jump…

Why do you think energy from wind and solar have become cheaper than from fossil fuels lately in so many places? I've asked many people lately. Most people answer economies of scale, technological advances, simplifying production, and factors about manufacturing solar and wind tools. I'd like to point out how expensive fossil fuels have become. Have you heard of the La Brea tar pits? Here's Wikipedia's description: La Brea Tar Pits are a group of tar pits around which Hancock Park was formed in urban Los Angeles. Natural asphalt (also called asphaltum, bitumen, pitch, or tar—brea in Spanish) has seeped up from the ground in this area for tens of thousands of years. The tar is often covered with dust, leaves, or water. Over many…

A friend told me about a documentary his friend produced, Tapped. I recommend it for those who care about their health, budget, and environments. It came out in 2009, so I don't know how I missed it so long. You can watch it here for free from Thought Maybe---a site loaded with free documentaries, so I recommend exploring that site more if you haven't. You can even right-click the movie at the site to download it. Here's the description from Thought Maybe: Tapped shows the hidden affects of the bottled water industry by documenting the impacts to the environment from plastic bottles, pollution from production, right down to the impact on the communities, land and people from which the water is taken… There's more at…

You can help me work on my book. I asked people's most important questions and biggest worries. Today I'd like to ask if you have any latent or secret concerns or worries---things you normally don't share. Do the following concerns resonate with you? Should I add or remove any? What questions would you like answered? Please post new questions or topics as responses or feel free to contact me directly. Searching inside myself, I believe many of us secretly fear Not really knowing or understanding the problems.Our children suffering, especially if our actions or inaction was relevant.Our children blaming us for their suffering.Facing the guilt, shame, or other intense emotion we've repressed.Looking ignorant or stupid about something important.A dystopian future like in a science fiction…

You can help me work on my book. Yesterday I asked people's most important questions. Today I'd like to ask your biggest concerns---what worries you? What keeps you up at night? Your worries don't have to be the biggest the Earth faces, but what you actually think. Do the following concerns resonate with you? Should I add or remove any? What questions would you like answered? Please post new questions or topics as responses or feel free to contact me directly. I'm worried my children will face a polluted world.I'm worried I will face a polluted world.I'm afraid the economy will crash.I fear losing my job if laws constrain my company.I fear losing my way of life.I feel ignorant about something people say is important.I'm…

You can help me work on my book. I'd like to address people's most important questions nobody has answered to your satisfaction. Do the following questions resonate with you? Should I add or remove any? What questions would you like answered? Please post new questions or topics as responses or feel free to contact me directly. How can I Live the way I do without polluting?Avoid plastic?Drive and fly without polluting?Help the world so I know my contribution mattered?Understand the problem so it doesn't sound so confusing?Help others act to, so I don't feel it's only me?Change the system creating inequalities contributing to the problem?Clean my neighborhood?Reduce ocean waste?Protect my family and people I love from floods, hurricanes, famines, and catastrophes?Tell if what scientists predict…