Living in Greenwich Village means receiving tons of mailings from democratic politicians. For years I’ve contacted people and companies that spam me with paper mail. I’ve gotten it to near zero, except political mail. Any time there’s an election, they send me tons of their polluting, depleting mailings, unsolicited, unwanted. I don’t know how to stop it because it’s different people each time. Here are a few pieces of pollution[…] Keep reading →

I just returned from another event by environmentalists. As usual, they promote climate most, mainly through emissions, but also through ESG and DEI. As usual, they promote anything but sustainability. When they talked about circular economy stuff, they talk about mining waste streams, but not ending nonrenewable inputs. When they talk about plastic, they talk about increasing recycling rates, but not that its mere production creates pollution that we have[…] Keep reading →

Living in New York City means eventually many people will pass through my neighborhood so I host people for visits in my home a fair amount. Though I spend most of my time here and visitors average maybe a few hours a week, I think they cause more pollution and depletion in my apartment than I do. One big reason is that they use hot water for everything and heating[…] Keep reading →

After chopping down half a continent’s forests, coal must have seemed like manna from heaven, and later oil, gas, and uranium. Bounty of nature. But you could see why they’d love it. It rewarded people for being smart, for being clever, and most of all for helping others. It enabled people to cross distances faster than ever, to build taller and stronger, to warm the cold, to cool the hot,[…] Keep reading →

Paul Ehrlich died two weeks ago. I read The Population Bomb a while ago and heard him speak in many interviews. I recently listened again to a few recordings of his and read a few articles of him. In each he was speaking to people who liked him and agreed with him so he spoke freely. In each he called people who disagreed with him “idiots” or something like “people[…] Keep reading →

I attended an event in midtown by Trump Plaza in midtown over the weekend. A friend who is very liberal said how uncomfortable the space made her feel. She also mentioned how she just got back from Mexico and planned to return there, as well as New Orleans, in the next few months. I didn’t point out to her how much of the cost of her plane tickets is funding[…] Keep reading →

People consistently say they don’t do what they believe is right regarding pollution and depletion because it won’t change the system. I point out that independent of what anyone else does, their personal pollution and depletion will hurt people who have not consented. They rarely even minimally decrease their pollution and depletion. I’m curious what people think they would have done under slavery, the Holocaust, Stalinism, or other dominance hierarchy.[…] Keep reading →

I recently met with an environmentalist. The name isn’t important, but this person founded an organization devoted to justice around climate. The person and organization are highly regarded in their fields. Our conversation followed a common pattern. This person is pursuing standard practices of legislation, market incentives, and innovation to promote things like more scientific research, innovating efficiency and new legislation, but most of all, a transition to “renewable” energy.[…] Keep reading →

This post shares a long series of legitimizing myths. Why cover these beliefs so comprehensively? Recall the response of a wise person who was asked, “If you had one hour to save the world, how would you spend it?” The reply: “I would spend 55 minutes defining the problem and 5 minutes solving it.” Another wise person said, “If I had 4 hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend[…] Keep reading →