I gave blood today. The medical system never ceases to shock me with its needless waste, senseless rules ostensibly based in safety but clearly not, and mindlessly following those rules without question. For context, I met an NYU researcher, Cassandra Thiel, who researched and published on comparing an operation performed in two hospitals, one in the UK, the other in India. The Indian hospital impacted the environment five percent—that is,[…] Keep reading →

The temperature yesterday approached 80F (26.5C) and was in the low to mid 70s (23-24C) today. That means my neighbors are going to start using their air conditioners. As best I can tell, several of them turn them on in May and turn them off in September or October. The street constantly sound like air conditioners. Sound pollution is pollution. Regular pollution is pollution too, and air conditioning provides plenty[…] Keep reading →

Longtime readers may remember my op-ed piece in the Village Sun: It’s Time to Ban Single-Use Packaging: The Village Sun published my op-ed piece. The Sun is one of my local papers and I find it covers local news that matter but the big papers miss. All communities would benefit from local journalism like it. I mentioned in past posts how people approach and ask what I’m up to, which[…] Keep reading →

I recently finished Bruce Springsteen’s memoir Born to Run. Below is what resonated with me and motivated me most: Bruce Springsteen wrote in his memoir Born to Run about discovering the guitar growing up in a working-class New Jersey neighborhood. The day after seeing Elvis on the Ed Sullivan Show, “I convinced my mom to take me to Diehl’s Music on South Street in Freehold. There, with no money to[…] Keep reading →

A friend told me about a difficult situation for himself at work. The person he reports to suggested that he lacked assertiveness. He listened to being told the information calmly, but when he reflected afterward, he felt a lot of different things, including feeling “twisted up inside” and “frustration, anger, disappointment, feeling misunderstood.” I can’t say for sure if he would benefit from learning the skill of assertiveness or whatever[…] Keep reading →

I spoke at the Sustainable Speakers Club, a Toastmaster event in the UK, on how to lead on sustainability and how not to. The theme was Transformational Projects the Motivate. It’s tempting to think giving people facts and numbers will motivate them, but it rarely does. Learning their intrinsic motivation and helping them achieve what they already wanted to helps more. I share a story illustrating how action leads to[…] Keep reading →

I’ve shared Eugene’s public postings of his experience doing the exercises in my book Initiative. At each stage, he learns more about himself and making his world work for him. Taking initiative forces you to learn your values, not in some abstract way, but: How do I want to spend my time, money, energy, and resources? How long do I want to follow other people’s values, or the worn path[…] Keep reading →

Last night I finished what I expect to be my last substantive edits for the book. Barring a big error or discovery, future edits will be only within paragraphs, not moving them around. I’ve made it my primary focus for several months and a priority for years. This step is a big accomplishment. After hitting send to send it to my editor and publisher, I sat back in my seat[…] Keep reading →

When getting electrical power requires climbing eleven flights of stairs, you learn to reduce consumption. My pressure cooker usually uses the most energy. I have to gauge how much food to put in based on how much charge remains in the battery and how much sunlight I expect in the days to follow cooking. The forecast says three days of rain, so I won’t cook today, for example. When there[…] Keep reading →