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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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, 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. 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; 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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. 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 Read more…
In the last post I talked about how ‘giving a f*ck’ about things that really matter is crucial to our well-being as we move forward in these chaotic times. It’s not only political and economic but as the recent hurricanes Read more…
Bertolt Brecht’s quote “Grub first, then morals” (Grub – slang for food) suggests that people should prioritize their basic demands before they can concentrate on even more abstract principles, like morals. It is a suggestion that individuals must not neglect Read more…
“Here’s to the bridge-builders, the hand-holders, the light-bringers, those extraordinary souls wrapped in ordinary lives who quietly weave threads of humanity into an inhumane world. They are the unsung heroes in a world at war with itself. They are the Read more…