Nature

Human ingenuity doesn't mean all companies should hire as many people as possible. Business gets it. I've meant to write this post since reading When McKinsey Comes to Town and hosting one of its authors on the podcast, Michael Forsythe. A concept the book coversIs it the case that the "ability to is "rightsizing." I had associated it with McKinsey, since the book documented McKinsey advising companies to do it, but I looked it up and the term seems widespread. For context, people debate over how many people can live sustainably on Earth---its carrying capacity. Many people lob verbal grenades at people who say that number is finite, suggesting it can always be higher. They say people who suggest human population is already above Earth's…

Today in 1988, the New York Times front page headline said "Global Warming Has Begun." Today today, Americans blame, rationalize, and justify, but pollute more than ever. They blame CEOs, companies, and politicians, denying and suppressing that they pay them to do what they do. We can stop if we choose to. It would mean valuing other people's suffering over our convenience.

Regular readers know what most people call "Christmas trees" I call by the more accurate name "Christmas pagan trees" because they come from pagan tradition. I document how many people pay for chopping down trees to use for a few days or weeks, then throw away just before or after Christmas. Today, May 11, I saw another on the curb for trash collection---a testament to how many trees we kill as a bastardization of a holiday that has nothing to do with fir trees. Stay classy, Christians. Or should I say pagans. What do you call someone who celebrates pagan holidays? I'm not saying one is better or worse, only I'm confused when Christians celebrate pagan holidays.

I spoke today to someone who co-founded a business making fashionable clothes from fabric that would otherwise have been disposed of. Even in sustainability, nearly everyone wants to make more. I'm not going to stop her. I support her salvaging stuff that would have become pollution, but more isn't less. More than more "sustainable" clothing brands, we need fewer H&Ms and clothing overall, but more people are making "sustainable" clothing brands than trying to stop excess clothing manufacture. More than more electric vehicles, we need fewer roads, but more people are making the former than trying to rewild the latter. More than more housing and food, we need fewer people (no, I didn't say eugenics, euthanasia, or any of the knee-jerk unthinking responses; as you…

I made it through January and February with 23 out of 25 days of rain, snow, and no clear skies. The days were shorter but I had roof access, so at least I could charge when there wasn't much sun. Without roof access, bring the panels and battery to the park takes more work and time. The challenges of sustainability are less technology, market incentives, and legislation and more how to handle the boots-on-the-ground nuts-and-bolts challenges of handling the Department of Buildings, coop boards, and personal challenges of day-to-day hurdles. My goal isn't for people to live like this, with portable panels and struggles, but someone has to actually make it work. People can live with set-ups that cost under a thousand dollars, but not…