[First off, let me say sorry about yesterday’s post of a revamped version of the national anthem. Like so many people commented, I couldn’t hear the lyrics. I thought that only the melody had been adapted. I would never have posted it if I had realized that the lyrics had been changed. But onwards…] One […]
Environment
Young people: how about an extra five grand?
Michael Shellenberger of the Breakthrough Institute asked me to alert younger readers in the crowd to the fact that Breakthrough is offering $5,000 fellowships to up to ten of the United States’ “top young organizers and thinkers to develop a vision and strategy for a new youth progressive movement.” From the webpage: “Breakthrough Generation — […]
Oh say can you see
It’s Presidents’ Day here in the United States, a national holiday and a day off for me. But here’s an evocative song performed by the incredible Sufjan Stevens for the day and for the times (if you can’t see the video below, click here). You like? Addendum: Actually, I couldn’t tell that the lyrics had […]
Which candidate can launch us into world leadership in the coming energy revolution?
I’ve said this a thousand times. There are incredible opportunities in our climate change/dependence on foreign oil/economic crisis. I hold this true on both the individual and cultural levels. In part, that’s because creativity loves constraints. If we are constrained by the need to use less fossil fuel, we have the chance to create an […]
To escape city life, embrace it
Making cities excellent for living in, by the way, is a crucial step forward if we are to maintain the planetary habitat that people depend on for their health, happiness and security. Indeed, “smart growth” and compact living are central pillars in the energy policies of many environmental organizations. To make such policies successful, though, […]
New Yorkers, let’s please breathe easier
Apropos of today’s earlier post about the problems with cars, two easy steps you can take, if you’re interested, to help reduce car traffic and air pollution in New York City, and in making the City more livable. First, if you’re a New York State resident, click here to send a fax to State Assembly […]
Is making a better car like making a better cancer?
The thing is, we’re looking for the better automobile, but couldn’t we do much better for ourselves by finding ways not to have to spend so much time in them in the first place? Here’s a list of thoughts. Some of them are my own. Some of them are sparked by WorldChanging’s Alex Steffan’s recent […]
When economic growth isn’t progress
Policy makers and even the voting public make the mistake of thinking that growth in gross domestic product (GDP) is an indicator of societal progress. In reality, though, GDP is nothing but an indicator of national spending with no distinctions between those transactions that add to our well-being and those that diminish it. Chop the […]