People keep praising my polluting less by avoiding packaging and avoiding flying, but few change themselves. Would-be leaders talk about how others should change their behavior while they don’t change themselves. Here’s an article by the CEO of Coca-Cola, Why a World Without Waste is Possible, describing some change other people did but not change he did. Maybe he’s reduced his personal pollution, but I don’t see it. I suspect[…] Keep reading →

Welcome to my second conversation with Evelina. I’ve spoken to a lot of people who’ve started from doing less and took on smaller projects so it would seem a lot easier for them. A lot of people talk about change. Evelina did and she did a lot and she enjoyed it more. Recall, she’s a travel writer who chose not to fly and now she’s taking time without using plastic.[…] Keep reading →

I’ve spoken to a lot of people about environmental action and inaction. While I haven’t done double-blind randomized controlled experiments, I have seen one broad trend: People who act on their environmental values do so for others. People who don’t act on their environmental values do so for themselves. Action Typical reasons people give for acting include: “I want to leave the world better than I found it,” “Other people[…] Keep reading →

A new reader and listener asked some questions I get a lot about polluting less and how to start. I’m sharing the answers so people can find them faster. I’ll preview the questions, then share his whole email for context, with my answers. Feel free to scroll down if you just want the answers. Just the questions: Packaging: What parameters did you start with? Do you buy everything at a[…] Keep reading →

Chris Rock has a routine I find hilarious on people trying to get credit for things that he thinks they ought to do. I’ll put a link to it. It’s not safe for work because there’s a lot of cursing but I think you’ll find it funny. One of the examples he gives is people saying, “At least I’m not stealing.” He says, “You’re not supposed to steal. You don’t[…] Keep reading →

Here are resources I learn from and return to about joy, discovery, meaning, purpose, community (not doom, gloom, new-age fluff, etc), in no particular order. I’ll keep adding to it. I recommend bingeing on all of it. Leadership and Teamwork The This Sustainable Life podcast When people hear my podcast name, they focus on the environment part. I consider leadership incomparably more important. We know what to do. The question[…] Keep reading →

More delicious, more convenient, more social, more food, more satisfaction, less money, less preparation time, more joy. How? Avoiding packaging. Avoiding packing by at least 90% has reduced my garbage to where I empty it less than once per year. Think you can’t do it? I’m not special. Anyone can do the same. It took a while to transition—going from emptying garbage weekly to biweekly, to monthly, and so on[…] Keep reading →