What I mean is, if we can come from MLK’s time to an African-American taking center stage at the DNC as potential first lady, maybe we can change the way we treat the habitat and each other. What an amazing–and way too long in coming–moment in history. Personally, I wept when she spoke (and I’m […]
Environment
40 steps on the personal path to green
A few weeks ago, I asked readers, “If a friend decided they wanted to do something about the environment, how would you tell him or her to start?” So just in case you or a friend wants to start, here are 39 of the answers, in no particular order and boiled down to their essence. Don’t […]
Redefining the good life while saving the planet
I’ve said this before: it wouldn’t be so bad if, while wrecking the planet, we could at least say we were having one hell of a party. But I’m not sure we are. So many of us are working way more than we should, spending less time with those that we love than we want […]
Who says we need cars and planes for a good life?
Now that I’ve finished the draft of my book, we’re finally on holiday. What we used to do, before the No Impact project, was fly to France to stay with friends. But the long haul flight made enough carbon emissions to equal the average American’s entire year of driving, and we had to rent a […]
Business People: Forget the fallacy of the zero sum game
Zero sum game: A situation or interaction in which one participant’s gains result only from another’s equivalent losses. Sometimes, we imagine business works that way. But what a sad, sorry way to look at the world. And if we do look at the world that way, does it make us happy? Let me explain: The […]
My Dad made me post this picture of his new solar panels
That’s him standing in front. He and my stepmother Beth are now powering their house and selling electricity back to the grid. They’re proud of themselves for making an effort. They should be. As you know, I’ve been doing my best to reduce my environmental impact for quite a while. If you ever wonder if […]
Work your own head out and get non-violent
My favorite mad scientist sent me this video. It’s the recording of a 14-year-old Beatles fan named Jerry Levitan who snuck into John Lennon’s hotel room in 1969 with a reel-to-reel tape recorder and persuaded Lennon to do an interview. The recording has been set to animation by director Josh Raskin and was nominated for […]
Drill here, drill now, get nothing but an opinion poll point or two
The Democrats are caving on offshore drilling. As reported by the Christian Science Monitor (emphasis added): “… In a shift on Saturday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that the House will take up comprehensive energy legislation next month that includes partially lifting the 1981 ban on offshore drilling… “… On Friday, Senate majority leader Harry Reid said that […]