Why do we have governments? Not a simple question. Depending on whom you ask you will get a variety of answers. Five of the more common answers are: 1. The government serves the interests of the ruling classes; 2. The government balances the goals and decides the mixture of policies Read more
In one of my university classes I used to show a picture of people in chains – Slaves. Then I would show a picture of people in cubicles doing their 9-5 drudgery. The difference I explained was that the first picture showed people who knew they were slaves. The second Read more
Most governments around the world have been offering financial recovery packages to their people following the nearly two years of lockdown and what can only be innocuously termed as the Covid economic crisis. It’s all very noble, trying to help people get back on their feet, but the global economic Read more
I often talk about potential ideas for creating a sustainable human culture on this planet. Technological sustainability is an exciting field with amazing innovation and potential. Yet, even 50 years after international recognition of our ecological problems (UNCHE, 1972 and 30 years since UNCED (Rio, 1992), all we have had Read more
In the last post I overviewed stupidity that causes socio-cultural harm and if left unchecked can lead to totalitarian systems of manipulation and control. According to the Cipolla quadrant scheme, I interpret the world being run by a small group of the Bandits with lots of stupid people supporting them. Read more
“Wisdom and knowledge is everywhere, but so is stupidity” Trudi Canavan Strange times we live in. Someone I know well recently called me stupid because I disagreed with her (she ardently trusts the MSM). I was merely asking her to consider a different perspective that countered her well entrenched beliefs. Read more
I recently watched a news pundit on the MSM justifying the censorship about Covid. How noble of him to want to safeguard people from misinformation and from having people to think for themselves with more than the singular narrative. Could that be because they are truly concerned about the public Read more
Part of our social contract with authorities is that we be told the truth about events going on in our world. Once upon a time the news media were our only source of information and we little option but to trust that the news pundits were generating their points of Read more
“You are only not responsible for what you say, but also for what you do not say when it is your duty to say something” Martin Luther. In my introduction to this blog, I talked about my transition from being a biochemist to environmental communicator and then Sustainabilitist. I was Read more
“The most confused we ever get is when we try to convince our heads of something our hearts know is a lie” Karen Moning. If I had to use a one word to describe what is going on in the world at the moment I would use ‘Trust,’ or alternatively, Read more
A bit of a swing off my usual path today. I have readers all over the world, so, this post is not trying to be an affront to any religious beliefs (whatever they may be) but a comment on how many religious autocrats over the centuries have worked to keep Read more
When medical doctors take the hypocritic oath, they vow to ‘Do No Harm’ when they practice medicine, because human life (and by extension, all life) is sacred and to use your skills to harm anything living is a crime against humanity and the natural world. The Oath is an ancient Read more
If anything, 2021 has shown us how technology has taken on a sacred aspect in how we let it dominate and control our lives – as much as money has become a central component in how our lives are determined. As religiosity has declined, technology has supplemented itself to become Read more
I have talked about how science and spirituality separated during the Renaissance period (e.g., The New Physics and Cosmology part 1 – The Problem of Variable Constants {September 2020}) and how logic and reasoning set us on a cultural course of thinking that science can cure all ills. It began Read more
I have addressed appropriate technology many times throughout this blog. For the developing world it is easier to see what extra technology will do to help people that are in many cases living at or just slightly up from preindustrial age technology. Do they need iPhones and upper end Tesla Read more
I was talking with a group of supposed environmentalists about a future sustainable society, and what struck me was how they kept going back to talking about a centralized global system to make everyone do the ‘right’ thing, namely being sustainable. I remember feeling a tad stunned that they felt Read more
I have been accused of talking about sustainability as a form of fantasy utopia. OK, forget about some Hollywood fantasy with everyone singing Kumbaya in some idyllic community that looks like heaven on Earth. Not that picture couldn’t exist, but not in any world humanity lives within for the foreseeable Read more
I love reading about billionaires telling us how magnanimous they are in giving away their money to help better human the condition. The big game for these people is called ‘philanthropy.’ Once upon a time, businesses before globalization created a new ruling class of billionaires had an expectation that some Read more
If you are making a fortune doing something, and that something was harmful to the planet but in a somewhat invisible way, what would it take to get you to stop completely? What would make you pick your better angel, especially if you were already a sociopath, or worse a Read more
I many times make reference to going down the rabbit hole. To do so with any expectation of success, fully requires an open and discerning mind. I believe I have that, but even then, I am often faced with things that stop me in my tracks and make me have Read more
I have written about needs hierarchies and the need for purpose in our lives (e.g., PERSONAL SOVEREIGNTY 3 – Overcoming Life’s hurdles and Becoming Happy and Free yet still Connecting, Contributing and Creating Positively {}). The needs models (e.g., Maslow, Alderfer, Murray, Atkinson) all state that sense of purpose or Read more
“The practice of discernment is part of a higher consciousness. Discernment is not just a step up from judgment. In life’s curriculum, it is the opposite of judgment. Though judgment a {person} reveals what {she or he} needs to confront and learn. Through discernment, one reveals what has been mastered” Read more
I have talked about Intentional community before (e.g., New Ways of Living Together 2 – Intentional Communities {October 2018}) as a new way of living. It’s literally an intention to rebuild community, and that’s what ‘Intentional Communities’ are all about – living with cooperative intention instead of just living with Read more
The acquisition of consumer goods (stuff) to make our lives more comfortable and luxurious succinctly describes the consumer mindset. (Consumerism – a social and economic order that encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts.) But it has come at a high price in which those few (the Read more
For the last couple of centuries, the urban environment has been designed to push nature back beyond the edges of the human built world with manicured parks and tree lined roads within the urban boundaries. We even design many of our modern buildings with heat and air conditioning to keep Read more
Years ago, when I first started teaching environmental science, it seemed a lot simpler (although anything environmental has always been an uphill struggle) with mainly a push for non-polluting green technology, trying to get business to adopt a better set of practices (e.g., Triple Bottom Line), and a need to Read more
A few weeks ago, the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee voted overwhelmingly to add another $25 billion to an already inflated Pentagon budget request by President Biden of $715 billion. It is not my point to debate whether the military of the largest armed force in the world needs more Read more
Sustainability is about sovereignty, service in cooperation with each other and the natural world, and a spirituality that understands connectedness. For humanity, it is also about being kind. Kindness is defined as the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate. Being kind is doing intentional acts that help, it involves voluntary Read more
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness – this is a well-known phrase from the United States Declaration of Independence. I doubt the founding fathers of the new United States in the 1780s envisioned a time could occur when the government would conspire with corporate interests to cause a loss Read more
If you are still debating whether to get jabbed or not, my advice, DON’T. It will not be any surprise to regular readers of my blog that I think something more serious than the Covid (C-19) pandemic is going on. My reasoning for this is in this blog post. I Read more