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 →

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 →

You know Godwin’s Law, right? It says: As an online discussion grows longer (regardless of topic or scope), the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Adolf Hitler approaches 1. It has a corollary that Whoever makes the comparison loses the debate. Well, I’m stating a similar law about discussions on the environment, Spodek’s Law: In a discussion on the environment, anyone who bases their point on an economist is[…] Keep reading →

Regular readers know I first called my podcast Leadership and the Environment because I saw our response to the environment lacking leadership. As a leadership coach, I’m in touch with many leadership coaches, including some of the most renowned who have been guests on the podcast. Leaders and leadership coaches could play the most important role addressing our environmental problems. Instead, nearly none act. Those who act to so ineffectively,[…] Keep reading →

I came across this revealing graph in a peer-reviewed paper and had to share it. It shows that over fifty years, societies that intentionally instituted family planning (as I understand, not China’s One Child policy) saw birth rates lower. But note that every society’s birth rate dropped. Governments that tried to increase birth rates saw decreases nearly identical to those that did nothing. They spent money for nothing except working[…] Keep reading →

There’s litter everywhere. I pass maybe thousands of pieces daily. You may live in a place with a lower population density, but probably as much litter per person. I pick up a dozen or so pieces each day, leaving most of it. That means I pass most without picking it up. I’m not doing it for my health or to solve the problem. I do it because it feels right.[…] Keep reading →

Sustainability: If You’re Not Patagonia . . . You’re Exxon Today’s top talent won’t work for you, buy from you, or tell their friends about you. Instead, they’ll attack you. I have a way forward. If you have or want customers, employees, shareholders, or media attention, sustainability matters, especially to top talent, especially talent younger than 35. They were born into a dumpster fire of an environment. Damn right, they’re[…] Keep reading →