Consider two cultures, one living sustainably, one unsustainably. Does the following sound familiar? The sustainable one must be living within its means. In fact, it must have some abundance to withstand an occasional flood or drought. Many cultures have survived and thrived for tens to hundreds of thousands of years. The unsustainable one is living beyond its means, decreasing what resources it needs to survive. In most cases, it can[…] Keep reading → Related Posts: Imperialism and Us For humanity to be sustainable, every person must live sustainably, including… How old is our culture? Could ..read more

On July 21st last year, both the solar panel and power station broke. I don’t know why or how, but cutting-edge technology is prone to fail. As the next day would complete two months, double my goal and twenty times my expectation, I decided I could declare victory, reconnect the circuit, and plug back in the next day. You can hear me say so in my July 22 podcast episode,[…] Keep reading → Related Posts: 615: Living off the grid without solar either (as all humans once did) 609: Finishing My Off-the-Grid-in-Manhattan Experiment in Month 3 Day 100 off the electric grid in Manhattan (about 98 d ..read more

I love traveling, exchanging culture, visiting family, and exploring nature, which is why I will never fly again. It destroys all those things. In flying as with any addiction, people addicted experience the addiction as warm, supportive, loving, like family. You tell me what you fear losing when ending an addiction and I’ll tell you exactly what you’ll gain more of. When you stop flying, you’ll experience more traveling, exchanging[…] Keep reading → Related Posts: What you'll get more of when you stop polluting: what you love most Why it's hard to help an addict stop Year 7, day 1 without fl ..read more

People don’t like feeling guilt, shame, insecurity, helplessness, hopelessness, and other emotions that they often feel when sustainability and the environment come up. The emotions arise from what I found Abraham Lincoln said best: “Nothing is more damaging to you than to do something you believe is wrong.“ Doing something you believe is wrong will make you feel guilt, shame, and so on. People spend so much of their time[…] Keep reading → Related Posts: Blaming someone for shaming you implies your emotions are out of control Goodbye guilt and blame, I Judgment is automatic, what you do with ..read more

Remember that when you depend on something to the point of addiction You tell me what you fear losing and I’ll tell you what you’ll gain. Suggest stopping gambling to gambling addict and they’ll fear losing winning. But outside rare jolts of winning, they mostly lose. Stopping gambling will bring them more winning and less losing. Social media addict fear losing connection, but social media isolates. Stopping social media will[…] Keep reading → Related Posts: What you'll get more of when you stop polluting: what you love most Do addicts get less of what they think they get more of? When someo ..read more

My friend brings addicts to rehab centers in California. He knows hotels where they hole up together doing heroin and such in modern-day equivalents of opium dens. They know him and that he doesn’t pressure them. He knocks on the door. They open it. He asks, “is anybody ready?” Usually they all pass, but sometimes one says, “I am,” and he drives them to rehab. He says that nearly every[…] Keep reading → Related Posts: "Addicts lie" and they sound like people justifying polluting My brief conversation with a heroin addict thanking me Do addicts get less of what they think they get more of? 119 ..read more

I’ve been thinking about what legal changes I see along the lines of the Thirteenth Amendment. That amendment helped resolve the most partisan issue in the nation’s history, including hundreds of thousands of young men killed in the Civil War. Today it unites us. I envision the following proposals transforming our culture and leading to unity, though people who profit from the old ways will resist, as they did with[…] Keep reading → Related Posts: 673: Jim Oakes, part 2: Can We Go From Abolition to Anti-Pollution? 667: James Oakes, part 1: Sustainability and Abolition in the United States Abr ..read more

One of the uses of fossil fuels no one has any replacements for is container ships. No batteries or hydrogen cells are on order to power container ships. Then you might read about how to make a pair of jeans, the cotton is transported to one place to be made into thread, another to be made into fabric, another to sew it, another to package it, another to sell it,[…] Keep reading → Related Posts: Bullshit Cargo Once you start composting, you can't go back 499: What sets limits on pollution, part 2: some answers Challenge question: Can you use fossil fuels without polluting? I think I bought fi ..read more

Do you remember the helicopter scene in Goodfellas? Henry Hill has a busy day delivering lots of things including guns, cocaine, and food. He has to do family things, meet his mistress, cook dinner, and all sorts of other things. He’s getting everything done, taking cocaine for energy. If you ask him, he’d say he was being super productive. Only he’s not doing anything meaningful. It’s all superficial. Any actual[…] Keep reading → Related Posts: Following up a reader's comment on food, eating, and exercise 496: Reverend Doctor Ambrose Carroll, Sr., part 1: Greening the Church To meet more val ..read more

Several neighborhoods in New York City with commerce form local civic groups called “Business Improvement Districts” that provide extra services they find the government provides too little. Examples include safety and security by hiring people in uniforms walk a beat like cops used to, but not enforcing the law, just being present. The BIDs effectively charge a tax to provide what would normally be government services that remain unmet. I[…] Keep reading → Related Posts: On when I should stop picking up litter in Washington Square Park The problem determines the solution A reader shares a ge ..read more