I learned of Blake through the mailing list of the maker of my rowing machine, Concept2. Their piece on him described him as a Paralympic bound athlete. I was impressed, but only thought of him as a potential guest on watching his TEDx talk. I think my message to his agent describes what I saw in him and when we talked about in this episode: In Blake’s case, I heard[…] Keep reading →

Should you prepare for a future of clean air travel, curb your flying, or other? I saw Terik speak on a panel on electric flight. As Chief Engineer at a company winning awards for battery-powered planes, he knew what he was talking about. He has to know about the cutting edge of various fields, including batteries, aeronautics, and materials. When the Wright Brothers first flew a heavier-than-air craft in 1903,[…] Keep reading →

Don’t outdoor restaurants sound nice? During the pandemic, New York City allowed restaurants that couldn’t host people indoors to serve them outdoors. Many restaurant owners credit the rule for keeping them in business. We neighbors happily supported businesses in need. The landlords saw the huge profit in keeping this public space for their private property, started raising rents—profiting from a deadly pandemic—and tried to get politicians to give them that[…] Keep reading →

Nearly everyone I talk to who works on conservation or would call themselves an environmentalist or something like it treats American conservatives and evangelicals as adversaries, lost causes, hurdles, or even the enemy. They love Katharine Hayhoe for being on their side while also practicing a Texas-friendly version of Christianity. They figure she’ll fix them for them. (We’re scheduling her appearing on this podcast, if you’re wondering). What do conservatives[…] Keep reading →

Here are the notes I read from, responding to this op-ed piece and this review for a book I’ve talked to the author about but haven’t read. Geoengineering Prologue or Epilogue for Humanity? Introduction, context Geoengineering is becoming a more common topic as people feel more desperate. The common theme is that when things get serious, we have to put everything on the table, even things that may not work.[…] Keep reading →

Our conversation in this episode starts by covering his commitment from last time. After a few minutes, it becomes apparent he picked a commitment based on feeling he had to fix the world—that is, extrinsic motivation disconnected from his heart. We revisited his intrinsic motivations and came up with a new commitment. Acting on intrinsic motivation is leadership. Your emotions create meaning or not. If you’ve been acting halfheartedly on[…] Keep reading →

First, I’m so used to talking to people who don’t act and try to convince themselves and others that individual actions don’t matter, I loved talking to someone inspiring a movement to change international law, making progress, and enjoying the process. If you like meeting people improving the world, you’ll love this episode. If lowering Earth’s ability to sustain life is such a problem, why not just make it illegal?[…] Keep reading →