Erik Bottcher is my elected legislator. New York City’s council presides over a budget bigger than most countries’. Yet I met him picking up litter. He organized weekly clean-ups when the city dropped its sanitation budget during the pandemic. He also sees the problem not as too little cleaning up but too much supply of packaging that becomes litter. Let’s pause for a moment. How many politicians have you heard[…] Keep reading →

Michael is becoming a regular. Would I have expected an extended conversation with a doctoral candidate at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary when I started? I don’t think so, and I don’t think many environmentalists engage with evangelicals and conservatives. I think you’ll hear genuine friendship, mutual respect, and mutual desire to learn from each other. I think you’ll hear actual learning. In this episode we took on a topic[…] Keep reading →

Maxine shares her experience with her commitment across the country. She moved partly to enable living by her values. People often suggest it’s easier for someone living in New York not to fly since I have access to so much culture here, but access to many cultures only matters if you value it. Not everyone does. I hope you live where you can access things you value. If you don’t,[…] Keep reading →

How do you become one of the premier investigative journalists at one of the premier publishers of investigative journalism? In general, how do you excel in an area with no established path? I consider figuring out how essential in leading others. I feel sad when I hear people say, “I’d like to help the environment, but there are no jobs in it.” Of course not! When culture is the problem,[…] Keep reading →

Michael shares about avoiding using a smart phone, or at least using a minimally functional smart phone. Do you remember what life was like without yours? What does solitude mean to you? How much time do you spend on a smart phone? Would you like to reduce it? What would you do instead? What are we missing? How about emotion, love, freedom, and joy? He talks about the irony spending[…] Keep reading →

Allegheny College was one of the first 10 institutions of higher education in the United States to be declared carbon neutral by an organization called Second Nature. Readers of my blog know my skepticism of claims of “net zero” or “carbon neutral,” but I look for people in leadership positions acting genuinely and authentically toward sustainability. So I bring you Allegheny’s president, Dr. Hilary Link. She shares the college’s experience[…] Keep reading →

Chad shares his experience motivating his family to try to bring them camping with him. You’ll hear they didn’t make it easy. I couldn’t resist asking questions about his experience of nature, people, and sex without sight. I didn’t want to ask questions everyone asks, but he graciously answered. His mindset also emerged of how to handle life’s challenges, which he shared. If I could give people new technologies for[…] Keep reading →