Best and Brightest … Genius — Esquire

A once-in-a-lifetime game-changing advance
in our field everyone else will follow
— Marshall Goldsmith

Astrophysicist turned new media whiz — NBC

Passionate … confident … — Forbes

You don't just learn theory from
him, you improve your life.
— Inc.

The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Harvard University, Standford University, Princeton University, MTV, IBM, US Army

My Mission

My mission is to help change American (and global) culture on sustainability and stewardship from expecting deprivation, sacrifice, burden, and chore to expecting rewarding emotions and lifestyles, as I see happen with everyone I lead to act for their intrinsic motivations.

In my case the emotions have been joy, fun, freedom, connection, meaning, and purpose.



Systemic change begins with personal change.

Some of my values. What are yours?
Months living off the grid in Manhattan: 22 (and counting)
Loads of garbage I filled in 2024 so far: 0
Loads of garbage I filled in 2023 so far: 0
Loads of garbage I filled in 2022: 0
Loads filled in 2021: 0
Loads filled in 2020: 0
Loads filled in 2019: 1
Loads filled in 2018: 1
Loads filled in 2017: 1
Days picking up litter: 2,528 and counting
Years not flying: 8 and counting
2024 grid electric grid use at home: 0 kilowatt-hours
Annual carbon emissions: about 1 ton
Daily burpees: 226,671 and counting
Resting pulse: 47 bpm

LATEST BLOG POSTS

Read about and Watch Bruce K. Alexander and Rat Park

on March 9, 2024 in Addiction

Regular readers know I write about addiction here a lot, especially the heavy addiction in Washington Square Park, where I see syringes all the time, as well as people smoking rocks in those small glass pipes. I guess it could be crack, meth, or other stuff. As you might expect, addiction features heavily in my upcoming book. I sent a part to podcast guest and bestselling author of The Urge,[…] Keep reading →

Feeling Helpless at NYU and in NYC

on March 8, 2024 in Blog

It hit me the other day while working in an NYU library. About 80 to 90 percent of students bring disposable food, doof, and beverage containers. I’d guess more than half the students are not American, meaning many of them fly home a couple times a year. In other words, they pollute more than nearly anyone who has ever lived. They act as if they don’t notice it or aren’t[…] Keep reading →

How to help Putin

on March 7, 2024 in Tips

Looking at their behavior, I think most Americans know how to help Vladimir Putin because they look like they’re doing everything they can to help him. How help Putin: How many of these things have you done since Putin invaded Ukraine? I’m sure he’s grateful for the financial support so many of us have given him.

Dave Gardner for President of the United States

on March 6, 2024 in Leadership, Nature

Dave Gardner and I have appeared on each other’s podcasts and have become friends. He is one of the few people who understands our environmental problems and works on it. I learned about him from his documentary Growthbusters (my comment is the first on its YouTube release), which showed him running for office in Colorado on a platform to shrink the local population and economy. He didn’t win the election,[…] Keep reading →

Rock star drummer and podcast guest Go Alan Go made my day Sunday

on March 5, 2024 in Art, Creativity, Doof

Sunday was the first sunny and warm day of the year, reaching nearly 70 degrees (21C). That’s unseasonably warm for the beginning of March, but only compared to the past. Compared to future Marches, it’s cool. I spent the morning on the roof, charging the battery. I knew I wanted to head to the park, but feared what I knew I’d see: piles of garbage. People don’t just go to[…] Keep reading →

The Joy of Discovering Saving More Energy (and using Q = m c ΔT)

on March 4, 2024 in Stories

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 →

This week’s selected media: March 3, 2024: The Road to Serfdom, Uncomfortable Conversations With a Black Man, the Social Dilemma

on March 3, 2024 in Addiction, Tips

This week I finished: The Road to Serfdom, by Friedrich Hayek: I quote Milton Friedman in my book a lot and kept coming across Hayek’s name while reading him and about him so I finally read Road to Serfdom. I wish I had earlier. Hayek wrote this book in the early 1940s, watching Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini rampaging across Europe, destroying freedom. He promoted freedom. If he were alive today[…] Keep reading →

Sign up for my weekly newsletter