Nature

At a dinner party recently, people were putting out snacks for people to eat. We were already eating carrots from a bag when one suggested putting them in a bowl. She reached for a single-use disposable plastic bowl. Since we had almost finished the carrots, I suggested not using it. She looked at the bowl, pointed out that it said "recyclable" on it, and concluded that using it would cause no problems. Everyone else agreed, reasoning that if it's recyclable, it doesn't affect the environment. It's a freebie. First, according to National Geographic, 91% of plastic isn't recycled in the United States. They report that 8 million metric tons of plastic ends up in the oceans every year---five grocery bags of plastic trash for every…

Why do nerds and geeks think we can do in space what we haven't on Earth? The distant problems they'd escape are nothing like the here-and-now problems we've created and can solve First, as one of the nerdiest and geekiest people I know, or even know of, I mean nothing negative from the terms. With a PhD in astrophysics, having helped build and launch a satellite, and with several patents, I can nerd out and geek out with the best of them. What we do on Earth Second, for context of what we do on Earth, witness this scuba diver's video near Bali, one of the most beautiful places on Earth: The diver didn't look for that garbage. It's just there. People say we can't stop growth on Earth. Human nature means…

On "Bering Sea loses half its sea ice over two weeks" The meaningful question is what you, the person reading these words, will do about it. Most will think something like "I want to help, but if I act and no one else does it won't make a difference" or "they should pass laws to stop people from doing what causes this and after they do I'll act." To act against your values to follow others is the opposite of leadership. Some will realize that their actions can make a difference, that they are responsible for the results of their actions -- flying, overheating or overcooling their homes, dietary choices, etc -- and they will choose to hurt others less. One of my biggest discoveries…

I'm sharing thoughts on reading The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt's New World by Andrea Wulf, one of the New York Times' 10 best books of 2017. Andrea Wulf's the Invention of Nature Who is Alexander von Humboldt? The New York Times review of the book explains: Alexander von Humboldt was the pre-eminent scientist of his time. Contemporaries spoke of him as second in fame only to Napoleon. All over the Americas and the English-speaking world, towns and rivers are still named after him, along with mountain ranges, bays, waterfalls, 300 plants and more than 100 animals. There is a Humboldt glacier, a Humboldt asteroid, a Humboldt hog-nosed skunk. Off the coast of Peru and Chile, the giant Humboldt squid swims in the Humboldt…

The last time I took my paper and cardboard to my building's recycling room in the basement was June 18, 2017. Here's my paper and cardboard recycling since then: There's room for more, so I could keep going to last maybe a year between drop-offs, but since I got a delivery with that box that doesn't fit in the bag I've been collecting my paper recycling in, I figured I might as well bring a load downstairs. Fewer loads doesn't mean less waste. I'll try to waste less.

Most people—actually, nearly everyone I've met or heard of—want to pollute less than they do, but don't stop themselves. They can, but they convince themselves they can't. But they don't. Most compartmentalize their pollution, becoming Enron Environmentalists—that is, they act as if the parts of their lives where they pollute don't exist or don't count. Sorry to break it to you, but you almost certainly qualify. They say things like, "I have to fly because I have family all over the world" or "... because my job requires it." Or similar things about eating, air conditioning, driving, and so on. Living with this internal conflict is like wearing wet socks all day and trying to deny or suppress that they're bothering you. Take off your wet…