I recall a kid’s TV program from 1969 where a bumbling wizard from the 11th century comes to the future and is enamored with the magic of “Electrickery.” He would flip a light switch and act as if he cast a spell so that the light turned on. Now a Read more…
As we move into a new economic future, we will not leave manufacturing behind for some mythical utopian agrarian society. We still need ‘stuff’ for a good techno-sustainable standard of living (SOL), but the focus will be on a much broader quality of life (QOL) and not simply SOL. As Read more…
As we move through the coming global political and economic upheavals, re-localizing our lives is the best way to re-establish our sovereignty and begin to live sustainably. This is not going to be a tweak of what is now, or even a variation of how we live, (e.g., greener and Read more…
To overview briefly about the idea of ownership. Nowadays, especially in the developed countries, we own lots of ‘stuff.’ Some people have so much stuff that they cannot store it in their home and rent storage space at specific rental facilities (the 11th largest growth industry at this time). Now Read more…
“Our destructiveness has not been, and is not, inevitable. People who use that excuse are morally incompetent, they are cowardly and they are lazy. Humans don’t have to live by destroying the sources of their life. People can change; they can learn to do better. All of us, regardless of Read more…
“We don’t have to engage in grand, heroic actions to participate in change. Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world” Howard Zinn. Here in the USA, I just submitted this year’s tax return. Whether I like or dislike taxes, they are a fact of our Read more…
“There is a purpose behind distorting history to make it seem like only great men achieve significant things. It teaches people to believe they are powerless and must wait for a great man to act” Noam Chomsky. As I wrap up my advice on how to create a sustainable future through Read more…
I have talked many times about the need for Mindfulness (e.g., see links 1 and 2) to create a sustainable world. Too many people react to life instead of mindfully observing it and then responding with Love and Compassion that celebrate our differences as strengths, not affronts to be challenged. Read more…
I was talking with some friends and what came out of the discussion was why I believe that localization matters so much. Another comment that arose out of that discussion was the notion that we must rebel against the globalized society to become sustainable. Let me say straight away, I Read more…
“There is a purpose behind distorting history to make it seem like only great men achieve significant things. It teaches people to believe they are powerless and must wait for a great man to act” Noam Chomsky. As I peruse the internet for ideas on sustainability and spirituality, one thing Read more…
For years I have been talking about change that will sweep over us as I see the various human and natural systems respond to chaotic energies. For more than a couple of centuries humanity has been living in a dystopian system that was pushed as normal. Have you ever seen Read more…
I gave a talk last week about community resilience. As usual I came in from an academic 30,000ft overview perspective. While the group found it interesting and thought provoking. My sense was that they are still in the mind pattern of thinking all we need to do is tweak the Read more…
In 2010, I spent several weeks travelling around the British Isles looking at various kinds of Sustainable Communities to understand how they functioned. What I came away with was a lot of ideas for my Sustainable Living text (2012). There were a lot of ideas that never made it into Read more…
If you are reading this blog, the odds are that you are already on broad with much of what I am saying. I am being more of a cheerleader to help you move ahead and to understand the rest of the like-minded people around you who just need a nudge Read more…
“The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom” Issac Asimov. Last May, I attended my grandson’s college graduation where he got a degree in Sustainability. What I found interesting was the graduates obtaining degrees in Complex Adaptive Systems Science (CASS). This Read more…
“We are not going to be able to operate our spaceship Earth successfully nor for much longer unless we see it as a whole spaceship and our fate as common. It has to be everybody or nobody” Buckminster Fuller. Ultimate power used to reside with the monarchies and emperors in Read more…
“Caring for the Earth isn’t some ‘weird hippie’ thing. It’s more of a badass survival thing. If we don’t have a healthy planet, there won’t be a healthy anything” Give a shift about Nature. I advocate that the only way to heal ourselves, and thereby save the planet from our Read more…
“If you want evidence that the world is a terrible place, watch the news and surf the web. But if you want to remember how incredible this planet is, go outside and into nature. Unlike social media and the news, nature has no incentive to keep us agitated, angry and Read more…
“I am losing precious days. I am degenerating into a machine for making money. I am learning nothing in this trivial world of [men]. I must break away and get out into the mountains to learn the news” John Muir. John Muir was a philosopher that spoke for the natural Read more…
“Ecology and Spirituality are fundamentally connected, because deep ecological awareness, ultimately is spiritual awareness” Fritjov Capra. Look at the list of words following describing negative emotions: Sadness; Disappointment; Despair; Hopelessness; Depression; Discomfort; Guilt; Shame, Anxiety; Anger; Fury; Hate; Wrath; Resentment; Rancor; Contempt; Animosity; Outrage; Malice; Revenge; etc. If you feel Read more…
“In this age, the mere example of non-conformity, the mere refusal to bend the knee to custom, is itself a service. Precisely because the tyranny of opinion is such as to make eccentricity a reproach, it is desirable, in order to break through that tyranny, that people should be eccentric. Read more…
Many people are concerned about the future and since I keep predicting that big changes are coming, they always want to know what might be occurring. I heard a great story about change that I think mirrors in many ways the transitions we will be going through. I remember in Read more…
You act the way you think. Therefore, to act sustainably you need to act sustainably. Pretty simple idea when you think about it. Many facts we see as absolute are only so if we accept the premises without question. Consider for instance that the world spins in a counter-clockwise direction. Read more…
Did an oops last week and jumped ahead in my numbering of posts. This week’s is part 18. Saw a wonderful cartoon last week of a chessboard where the black and white king and queen were dining on a table to the side of the board while all the rest Read more…
“The most powerful person is someone who decides their self-worth is not a group decision” Case Kenny. We all have myriad beliefs and unconsciously seek anything that confirms such beliefs – belief confirmation is what makes us such good targets for those seeking to control us. Until we consciously look Read more…
As I start to write my blog for the next week, it is November 11 today. Known as Veterans Day in the US, and Remembrance Day in the UK, it got me to thinking of the many men I have met or have been told about who fought (and died) Read more…
The USA saw an interesting election this past Tuesday. I’m not going to discuss the outcome with any dichotomous judgment – it is what it is. I have friends on both sides of this political isle and they are decent people. Of course there is a lot of name calling Read more…
I continue to read about how electric cars and renewable energy are going to save the planet from Global Climate Change (or whatever incarnation of the climate idea you prefer). My questions are always, “How is all this electricity that will be needed being created?” “How does using renewables alone Read more…
“Man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much—the wheel, New York, wars and so on—whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were Read more…
I recently saw an online post that emphasized toxic problems with the Industrial Agricultural system and the need to go more into permaculture. What struck me was the series of comments that emphasized how many people were locked into the myth of the ‘Green Revolution’ as the only way to Read more…