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: 40 (and counting)
Loads of garbage I filled in 2025 so far: 0
Loads filled in 2024: 0
Loads filled in 2023: 0
Loads 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: 3,121 and counting
Years not flying: 9 (115 months) and counting
2024-25 grid electric grid use at home: 0 kilowatt-hours
Annual carbon emissions: about 1 ton
Daily burpees: 258,298 and counting
Resting pulse: 46 bpm

LATEST BLOG POSTS

More gratuitous destruction of life, liberty, and property in my neighborhood

on November 7, 2025 in Freedom, Nature

Following up July’s post on The social cost of gratuitous plunder and destruction of life, liberty, and property, here are more examples of people flouting the US Constitution’s claim to protect citizens from being deprived of life, liberty, and property. Pollution and depletion aren’t victimless crimes. They hurt everyone. Let’s start with the venue I did the last post American Bar, again blasting the outdoors with air conditioning nobody benefits[…] Keep reading →

Conservative, libertarian, and Christian posts in my blog and podcast episodes

on November 6, 2025 in Education, Freedom, Nonjudgment

Most people who call themselves environmentalists are on the political left. I talk to a lot of them. I also talk to people on the right and in other directions. I learn from all of them. I decided to compile them for reference. Some blog posts (I’m sure I missed a few): Podcast episodes:

Seeing the world’s fastest runners up close, volunteering at the New York City Marathon

on November 5, 2025 in Fitness

I’ve run in six marathons and watched several others, but never before volunteered until Sunday. Wow! It was almost unfair the access. I was right in the middle of Columbus Circle where the runners make their final turn back into Central Park before the several hundred yards to the finish Check out the videos below to see the top finishers. The runners may go past too fast to see in[…] Keep reading →

A new personal best (bench/floor press) and a failed attempt (Turkish Getup)

on November 4, 2025 in Fitness, Habits, SIDCHAs

I wrote in August about a couple personal bests in my lifting practice, Two personal bests in a week: Freedom, and last month about the risk of injury in exploring your physical limits. Why form is important in lifting weights, especially Turkish Get-Ups. First, the personal best on the bench press, or more accurately floor press, since I don’t have a bench. My last personal best was to do three[…] Keep reading →

841: Sandra Goldmark, part 1: Fixation: How to Have Stuff without Breaking the Planet

on November 3, 2025 in Podcast

How often does something break that you know could be fixed, but you don’t know how and there are no places to fix it? I remember repair stores all over the place, but the field doesn’t exist any more. We all know about planned obsolescence and how products are designed to break. Now we feel we have to throw things away and replace them (after avoiding buying things when possible,[…] Keep reading →

This week’s selected media, November 2, 2025: Sophie Scholl: The Final Days, Repair Revolution

on November 2, 2025 in Tips

This week I finished: Sophie Scholl: The Final Days, directed by Marc Rothemund, starring Julia Jentsch: This movie was nominated for an Oscar for best foreign language movie in 2005. I confess I only learned of the White Rose movement, and two of its key members, Hans and Sophie Scholl, this year. I recommend learning more about them, especially if you’re interested in learning what leads people to oppose a[…] Keep reading →

840: Dr. Leonardo Trasande, part 1: Sicker, Fatter, Poorer: The Urgent Threat of Hormone-Disrupting Chemicals to Our Health and Future … and What We Can Do About It

on November 1, 2025 in Podcast

I found Dr. Trasande quoted in a Washington Post article The health risks from plastics almost nobody knows about: Phthalates, chemicals found in plastics, are linked to an array of problems, especially in pregnancy. He said, “Endocrine-disrupting chemicals are one of the biggest global health threats of our time … And 2 percent of us know about it—but 99 percent of us are affected by it.” The article said that he[…] Keep reading →

Lincoln didn’t heal slaves’ wounds. He led their “owners” to stop owning them. I’m following Lincoln, and then some.

on October 31, 2025 in Freedom, Leadership, Nature

Our environmental problems are symptoms. I won’t fight people trying to protect and conserve nature, but the degradation of nature isn’t the problem. Restoring an old growth forest doesn’t change that billions of people are acting in ways to cut down whatever is restored. Many times I’ve described how the suffering and death we and our culture is causing is orders of magnitude times greater than slavery, so I won’t[…] Keep reading →

More drugs: a woman pooping in the park in broad daylight and more junkies shooting up in my neighborhood

on October 30, 2025 in Addiction, Doof, Nonjudgment

As always: I post about junkies not to criticize or condemn them as individuals, though I consider adults responsible for their actions. I post about them to illustrate our culture. Their addiction and its harms to others and communities is more acute than most of ours, but it is generally more benign than people with dependencies on flying, driving, doof, takeout, screens, and other things nearly everyone does that hurt[…] Keep reading →

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