“I used to think the top environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse, and climate change. I thought that with 30 years of good science we could address those problems. I was wrong. The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed and apathy…and to deal with those we need a spiritual Read more
Can you be deeply spiritual and entrenched in the physical Material world? Yes, you can. What seems to happen though is that the more spiritual you become the more you become aware of ‘something’ that connects you to a greater reality. If you never questioned it, your life would still Read more
Aldo Leopold, in his A Sand County Almanac book published in 1946, said, “There are two spiritual dangers in not owning a farm. One is the danger of supposing that breakfast comes from the grocery, and the other that heat comes from the furnace.” And “The last word in ignorance Read more
Put your finger against a surface and push. Your finger is solid and the surface is solid so nothing happens. Yet, what is solid? And what has this to do with living sustainably? Just enjoy the ride and the scenery as I lead you down this path of the rabbit Read more
I started this blog to get people thinking for themselves. I have done some down the rabbit hole material, but I find I fall in to the trap of being merely reformational in what I say much of the time. I realized this when I picked up the latest Read more
Like most technology of the last 70 years, we start with what sounds like a great idea and then rush it to mass production without any real consideration of long-term consequences. Then when consequences arise (as they always seem to do) we find that big money, scientists funded by them, Read more
I have discussed how science works and especially how its reporting (or not) is affected by monied interests and governments. This is an interesting case study where the EMF issues resembles so many other issues concerning health and environment. Besides EMFs that occur from electrical wire sources and equipment, there Read more
When I was 14 years old, my parents moved us to another house in my home town. It had a field opposite with large power lines running across the field. About that time, I noticed that in damp weather the lines crackled and occasionally seemed to emit sparks around the Read more
We need to understand how scientists work and research gets done. There is a lot of research out there. Even as an expert in a specific area, it is hard to keep up on the vast amount of research being published in that area. To the lay-person, the research is Read more
Our culture has all these people throughout history whom we revere for their creativity and inventiveness. The names Gutenberg, Tesla, Edison, Carver, and Bell, are but a few who made great technological changes for society. While today we might use names like Zuckerberg or Musk to show how creativity is Read more
Many years ago, I attended a weekly, evening, continuing education course about Creative Writing. The instructor as you might guess focused on creativity and its expression. During one class discussion we had to think of a subject on which to write about things to do at a Caribbean resort. There Read more
Jared Diamond writes in his book The World until Yesterday about how indigenous peoples lived for most of human existence in tribal societies. He doesn’t paint a utopia, yet explains why the tribal system worked overall. Relatively recently in human history we moved from hunter-gatherer tribal systems into farming communities Read more
It is estimated that 90% of people intensely dislike the working week, which is a product of efficiency for the industrial revolution and machine system of living. So, 10% of people have a living that is ideal for them. They could work 15 hours a day and still love what Read more
If we are to move towards a sustainable world, we most certainly will have to find ways to live more harmoniously with each other. We will not have to become saints to live together, but we will have to find respect for all our differences, and compassion will have to Read more
Time to talk a little about spirituality and its place in a sustainable world. Let me be clear at the outset in this post, spirituality is NOT the same as religiosity. While spirituality has been generally associated with religions, it is erroneous to connect them directly. I have met many Read more
Business, just like money, is a tool that can be helpful or otherwise. The reason it holds so much power over us is because it gives us luxuries and comforts that most of us find desirable. The level to which these desires have become addictive, however, is a product of Read more
As an older person, I have seen technology come from the analog radio, television, and corded land-line telephone to the digital wonders we have today. One of the most intriguing for me is the loss of printed word to the internet revolution. We now all have at our fingertips nearly Read more
I have just returned from Ouray, Colorado, as spectacular a mountain setting as can be found in many places around the world. The men of European descent who first came here in the late 1800s didn’t come to appreciate the mountains. To them the mountains were just a resource to Read more
So how is the business world moving forward with all of this sustainability stuff. To read the mainstream news and publications would suggest it is well on its way. The reality? The main driving force seems to be the business worlds perception of how the customers view sustainability. It is Read more
I’m busy ice-climbing this week enjoying the beauty of the mountains of Colorado! More regular posts once I get back from playing. I live comfortably in a house much to big for my needs, although it is one of the more modest ones in my neighborhood subject to Home Owners Read more
At this point I may have some divergence from many of my colleagues on what constitutes education for a sustainable world. We train teachers to set up specific curricula with specific goals and objectives – lesson plans. While I don’t disagree with this, I did it myself for many years, Read more
Is there a model system we can explore that can show us how a Steady State System works successfully over long periods of time? Yes, and it is called the Natural world. The currency of this system is energy and it can show us a lot about how economies ought Read more
Some Left brain stuff today. The late Professor Al Bartlett at University of Colorado-Boulder spent many years doing public talks about the concept of growth and sustainability in connection with modern economic business thinking and planning. A lot hinges on the terms growth and sustainability. Is there such a thing Read more
In the late 1970s I recall watching a BBC science show that showed at least four main different hydrogen fuel options. The researchers were all from the big engineering universities like MIT, CALTECH, and Oxford, so we’re not talking garage inventors. The different options were clearly discussed and demonstrated on Read more
“Remember, everything is right until it’s wrong. You’ll know when it’s wrong” Ernest Hemingway. In the film ‘The Matrix’ The hero Neo takes the red pill and awakens from his illusion of the consumer lifestyle to find himself in a dystopian ruined world run by artificial intelligence. He is the Read more
“People will listen when they’re ready to listen and not before. Don’t waste time with people who want to argue. They’ll keep you immobilized forever. Look for people who are already open to something new.” Daniel Quinn. What we experience is our perception. What we perceive is our experience. We Read more
I have briefly stated it in previous posts, and I have a whole chapter in my SL text about Happiness. In economic posts I mention that what we really value and want is not what we measure. In a class I had a colleague snigger when I told the class Read more
I don’t pretend to be a top philosopher, but I listen (and read articles and blogs) to people who claim to be skeptics, but then I look at what they are really saying. What most are saying is that they do not believe something that contradicts what they believe – Read more
As I have been trying to emphasize, healthy food makes healthy humans. Michael Pollan says that when you walk into a modern store, you should avoid the center isles that carry all the processed and dangerous crap (I use that C-word purposefully) and head to the fringes of the store Read more
As an introduction to what we can do to ensure clean and healthy food (in next post), I would like to ask a simple question: How long does it take for a food crisis to occur? While I have had colleagues argue this with me, I say 3-4 days! My Read more