[Update on 9/19: The Senator has agreed to meet with me so no need to call him. Thanks for everyone’s support! If you call nonetheless, please be kind to the staff you talk to.] You’re never going to believe it folks, but today I had another close call on my bike, but this time the […]
climate change
You’re in charge of saving the world!!!
When I allow myself to lapse into know-it-all-ism, it is a mistake. In fact, I don’t know the answers to this catastrophe that threatens our health, happiness and security as it depends upon our planetary habitat. And I’ve never met anyone else who knows the answers either. What I hope to do with this blog […]
Strangely, a way to enhance both technology and environmental activism
A study of the Structures of Participation (STROPs) in Museums from xDesign Project on Vimeo. Start by remembering these words: “structures of participation.” Now let’s go… I’ve argued before that, when it comes to using resources effectively, it is not only that we should make sure that our designs and production processes are energy- and […]
The Tom Sawyer approach to saving the world
To change people’s values, so the shrinks say, you change their behavior. You don’t barrage them with ideas and cause information overload. You don’t tell them their existing values are wrong and get their backs up. What you do is you get them to change their behavior and, once you’ve done that, you let their […]
Does high resource use make a great life?
This photo (sorry for the poor quality) shows one half of an empty basketball court that I’ve ridden past many times during my car-less vacation in Greenport. It’s in someone’s back yard. Never once have I ever seen anyone playing basketball on it. And I thought: some dad or mom might have worked so hard […]
If you’d like to ditch the car but worry about emergencies
Suppose you’d like to commit to leaving your car in the driveway or getting rid of it altogether and instead making your commute by foot, bike, carpool or public transit. You want to save the money, skip the traffic jams, get the exercise, cause fewer greenhouse gas emissions, and have less stress. It’s just that […]
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 […]