Obviously I’ve been in the mood for introspection these last couple of days. And I think that introspection is important in the environmental realm, because we must prioritize the use of resources. We must decide what our limited resources are best used for. That requires introspection. Because to know what our resources should be used […]
Environment
Does life have meaning?
In Tolstoy’s A Confession (the autobiographical account of his crisis of meaning I wrote about the other day), he argues that, if what we seek to achieve does not endure after our death, then our life itself has no meaning. As Tolstoy’s reasoning goes, since everything he strived for in life–riches, fame, pleasure–would ultimately disappear […]
What is true progress?
Because of my stance on consumption, I get accused sometimes of being anti-progress. This is interesting to me, because I am very pro-progress. I want so much progress. It’s just that I’m not sure that the societally accepted definition of progress is correct. Heading in the same direction we’ve been heading for the past 100 […]
The difference between hell and heaven
My dentist Gary is one of my best friends, and I visited his office today. I joked with him, “Why do you have to make your living by tearing my mouth apart?” Actually, he’s great at his job, but that’s another story (email me if you’re looking for a great New York dentist). The point […]
Antarctic Wilkins ice shelf breaks away
Read here. Need I say more?
Thirty-one tips for reducing your impact while saving money
I was reading through comments here on the blog last night and I found this great list of tips by reader Millie Barnes, who writes a blog about health and gardening called Optimum Nutrition. Her tips were just too comprehensive to let them languish in the comments. So here they are (I don’t even mind […]
“The biggest enemy is tap water”
That’s a quote, apparently, by Robert S. Morrison, vice chairman of PepsiCo–which owns Aquafina. I heard it when I was watching a brand new documentary–Tapped–by director Stephanie Soechtig about the perils of the bottled water industry to people and the planet. I also confirmed that Morrison called our most precious asset “the enemy” here. Anyway, […]
Design that doesn’t waste
In the meditation school where I sit, we have formal Zen meals during retreats. Each of us sets out four bowls in front of the mats on which we sit. Water is placed in the furthermost, right-hand bowl. Different types of food go in the other bowls. But what is fascinating from a conservation perspective […]