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

The average of zero and a negative number is still negative so we all have to live sustainably, not just some of us.

on January 3, 2025 in Models, Nature

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 →

A video of my twice-daily burpee-based calisthenics routine at the start of 2025

on January 2, 2025 in Fitness, Freedom, Habits, SIDCHAs

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 →

The books and movies I liked most and least in 2024

on January 1, 2025 in Tips

On Sundays I post the selected media I finished that week, usually books and movies, though sometimes videos or other media. I looked back at the list I finished this year. My top book is Sustainability Simplified, and not because I wrote it. I wouldn’t have written it except that I see zero approaches to our environmental symptoms that even in principle solve the greatest problem humanity faces—PAID culture, a[…] Keep reading →

800: Lorna Davis, part 4: After the Sustainability Leadership Workshop

on December 31, 2024 in Podcast

If you haven’t listened to my conversation with Lorna before taking the sustainability leadership workshop, I recommend listening to it first: 794: Lorna Davis, part 3: Before taking the sustainability leadership workshop. In this episode, Lorna shares her experiences, reactions, and thoughts from taking the workshop. They’re all multifaceted. They come from her classmates, leading them in the exercises, being led by them in the exercises, curiosity, and more. She[…] Keep reading →

Disposable means imperialist. So does polluting.

on December 30, 2024 in Freedom, Nature, Nonjudgment

The dictionary defines imperialism as: The policy, practice, or advocacy of extending the power and dominion of a nation especially by direct territorial acquisitions or by gaining indirect control over the political or economic life of other areas. Making something disposable means when you’re done with it, you put it into someone else’s space. Likewise with pollution. In principle, if the disposable thing biodegrades, it might decompose, but most disposable[…] Keep reading →

This week’s selected media, December 29, 2024: This Land, Yi Yi

on December 29, 2024 in Tips

This week I finished: This Land: How Cowboys, Capitalism, and Corruption Are Ruining the American West, by podcast guest Christopher Ketcham: I consider Chris one of the top journalists on our environmental symptoms for many reasons. The top two are his taking on essential topics few others do, especially growth and limits to it, and writing about them knowledgeably and effectively. In This Land he reveals the tragic horror story[…] Keep reading →

“They blame me for their guilt”

on December 28, 2024 in Nonjudgment

I heard someone speaking on nature conservation. After he spoke someone in the audience described how people who promote conservation in words but don’t practice it in deed often call people who also practice it pushing too hard, too self-righteous, or the like. The speaker responded: “Yes, they blame me for their guilt.” The statement rang true. People acting against their own values feel guilty not because others who act[…] Keep reading →

799: Josh Bandoch, part 2: Leadership: Humans feel first, then reason

on December 27, 2024 in Podcast

Josh and I talked about a few aspects of his acting on his commitment from the Spodek Method. For one thing, since he and I both study, practice, and teach leadership, we talked about the technique, how it works, how it impacted him. Since leadership involves emotion, empathy, and related social and emotional skills, we talked about the emotional journey. If you ever want to infuriate me, maybe the most[…] Keep reading →

Our environmental symptoms aren’t like a mosquito. They’re like a flat tire while riding a bike: you have to stop and face them to solve them.

on December 26, 2024 in Models

Some problems are like a mosquito. It may bother and annoy you, but usually not enough to keep you from what you’re doing. Say you’re walking and a mosquito bothers you. You may swat at it and try to kill it, but you can generally keep doing what you were doing. Many people see our environmental symptoms as mosquito problems. They see them as bothersome, but not enough to turn[…] Keep reading →

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