Dave saw the problems with growth to local communities, the national economy, the global economy, and the environment. He questioned the the nearly unquestioned belief that growth is good, especially GDP and population growth. Once you question it, like a sweater unraveling, you start seeing the problems it causes. I haven’t been able to communicate its problems to someone who disagreed, so I won’t try here, though if you’ve also[…] Keep reading →

I have a friend whose business is to find people on heroin and other opiates and bring them into treatment. He goes to hotels where they live or whatever they do. And it’s based on government money because apparently his interventions work. He tells me that when he goes to visit these hotels where they live it’s squalor, filth. There’s blood and urine and feces. These rooms are really dark[…] Keep reading →

Bethany made her name as the first journalist to predict Enron was overpriced which meant going deep into the people and the numbers and understanding them and then facing overwhelming criticism. Well, turns out she was right but it must have been very tough. Now she’s looking at fracking. She looks at the people and the numbers and she makes sense of them here. And she wrote a short colorful[…] Keep reading →

My publisher recommended an exercise to help write concisely, which she found at a page called Very Good Copy in an article called This exercise will train you to write more concisely. It says, “If your goal is to write tighter copy — copy that says more in fewer words — try this 15-minute exercise. . . rewrite a Wikipedia paragraph to a third of its original length (e.g., edit[…] Keep reading →

Marion Nestle is a longtime hero for me. Food is one of the major pieces that got me into my environmental work. Reading Diet for a Small Planet in the 80s is what got me from this fear that we’re in danger of not getting enough protein and dying, that enabled me to stop eating meat. Years later I was avoiding fiber remove foods. Years later I was avoiding packaged[…] Keep reading →

I think of Jeffrey’s research as particularly valuable since it comes from different directions and draws from many different sources than most environmental approaches do. He takes a different approach to technology and innovation. He’s not so big on technology. I mean he’s big on it but he recognizes its limitations and its potential for harm. Rarely do I hear of scientists saying that their research points to leadership. In[…] Keep reading →

I can’t stand our nanny state that coddles corporations and gives them welfare without requiring they do anything to help society in return. They’ve manipulated the government to redistribute money from people who work for a living, like me, to corporations that get handouts. It’s like socialism for corporations. What made me think of it was a passage from Marion Nestle‘s Food Politics. Since interviewing her, I’ve been reading and[…] Keep reading →