LATEST BLOG POSTS

The end of today marks the end of one month off the electric grid in Manhattan. Like the experiments before it, including avoiding packaged food for a week, avoiding flying for a year, and unplugging my fridge, before starting, I didn’t think I would make it, I thought it would worsen my life, and I didn’t know what challenges I’d face. Also like those experiments, I enjoyed the results and[…] Keep reading →

I volunteer a lot, so end up talking to organizers of volunteer organizations. Over the weekend I talked to two organizers of food volunteer organizations. One provides meals through a soup kitchen, the other collects food stores would throw away and delivers it to community centers. Both repackage food delivered to them in disposable, single-use plastic containers. I know people were able to deliver food safely before plastic was invented,[…] Keep reading →

Sandra took responsibility when she didn’t have to, as the Executive Director of NYC Pride, to respond to my requests to talk to an organizer. Longtime listeners and readers of my blog know that last year, I was disgusted by the garbage covering Washington Square Park the morning after New York City’s 2021 Pride March. I posted pictures and video with the quote from another person in the park I[…] Keep reading →

At an art show recently, I was looking at a painting that caught my eye and attention. It was of a beach or shallow ocean, viewed underwater so you could see the waves from below, with the sun filtered and refracted through it, echoing the waviness of the sea floor. Here’s a similar piece by the artist, though online doesn’t match the beauty in person: As I looked at it,[…] Keep reading →

Most people, maybe everyone, seem to think they can live a polluting lifestyle and someone somewhere else can undo their pollution. They’ll use plastic and some kid will invent a boat that will scrape it from the ocean or breed a fungus that will digest it. They’ll buy a plane ticket and someone will plant a bunch of trees to undo the damage. The scientific ignorance in this view should[…] Keep reading →

Watch Jason’s Not Just Bikes videos. I’ve watched them all. They’re informative, engaging, funny, researched, provocative, and keep you coming back, but not like Netflix stuff designed to addict. After you watch a few, listen to our conversation. In our conversation he shares more depth than his videos of his motivations, how he makes the videos, interacts with his audience, feels frustration from some, learns from others, and more. He[…] Keep reading →

In college, after I stopped eating meat but still ate dairy, I met a young woman who was vegan. I think I knew then that I intended to become vegan at some indefinite future time, but didn’t see a path to it. I’d lived in Paris a year and learned to love cheese too much. She was allergic to dairy, so ate none. Since then, I’ve often commented that nearly[…] Keep reading →