LATEST BLOG POSTS

A friend reminded me of a life lesson we could all use in facing our environmental symptoms. In her words: “I never had a more optimistic outlook than when things were going to shit.”

I was learning about the economist Ronald Coase and a topic he focused on: transaction costs. A person in a video described how businesses and technology help lower transaction costs. The person used Amazon.com as an example, pointing out it takes less time to search the marketplace and buy what someone wants. My experience is different. When I look up what people buy most on Amazon.com, a lot of it[…] Keep reading →

Meaningful interactions don’t have to be complex. Travis simply shares his experiences in nature in childhood and finds ways to recreate the emotional experience today. To me the most meaningful part is the result: he expects to spend more time with his children (and dog) doing something he’s meant to do a long time. It doesn’t cost money. It sounds like it will give him more time. The cleaning part,[…] Keep reading →

Do you feel busy all the time, like no matter how much you do, you still have more to do? I used to feel that way, but less so now. I still have to pay bills, buy food, and so on. It’s more that I recognized how our culture rewards companies and industries making us feel that way. Here’s how. Advertisers have learned to manipulate our emotional systems, often better[…] Keep reading →

Compiling resources on Robert Carter III for reference: Why do I care about Carter? A CNN article quoted Andrew Levy, who wrote a book on Carter, on why Americans seem to bury Carter’s story: Levy, whose books include a biography of Carter, “The First Emancipator,” has another suspicion: America doesn’t care – because it’s inconvenient. “It blows an enormous hole in this legacy we’re trying to balance for these founders,”[…] Keep reading →

This week I finished: The Anti-Jefferson: Why Robert Carter III Freed His Slaves (And Why We Couldn’t Care Less), by Andrew Levy: This piece was a journal article in the spring 2001 issue of The American Scholar. Robert Carter III plays a major role in Sustainability Simplified as a contrast to Jefferson, Washington, and their peers who spoke of freedom but did not free their slaves. Carter freed all his[…] Keep reading →

I spoke this post title in conversation. As I said them, I realized I had to post them to my blog: “I solve problems. I’m not putting band-aids on symptoms“ Most purported solution I see proposed for the environment put band-aids on symptoms. I don’t oppose helping the poor, conservation efforts for the Amazon or other nature being encroached on, avoiding straws, eating less meat, turning off lights when not[…] Keep reading →

I generally define sustainability as not lowering the amount of multicellular life earth can sustain. Single-celled life turns out to comprise a lot of life and our behavior may not affect it, but I’m partial to humans and the life we depend on, like other animals, plants, and fungi. Humans have decreased the amount of life. If sustainability keeps the number unchanged, it’s like a zero net affect. Unsustainability means[…] Keep reading →

Here is my twice-daily calisthenics routine at the start of 2025. For context, here is a list of all my sidchas, standard operating procedures, and preferences. I have found discipline creates freedom. This sidcha creates freedom, peace, connection, calm, and more. The calories burned and motivation required are negligible in comparison to those benefits, and are benefits themselves. I started in 2011 with ten burpees a day, then added and[…] Keep reading →