Many of us are having a tough time. Perhaps you, too? And, maybe some of you are like me: My basic needs are met, my relationships are satisfying, my health is okay. But, often enough, I become consumed with concern for the future of our planet. I’m one of those who takes scientific findings seriously—although …
“If you are eating in a fast-food restaurant or in a fast-food way, not only are you malnourishing yourself, but you are also unwittingly digesting the values of this fast-food culture. Those values are becoming part of you–just like the food. And once those values are part of you, they change you. You begin to …
We should all be participating in the 350.org “Fossil Free” initiative. It has the potential to become one of the most important movements of our time. Bill McKibben and others associated with 350.org make a very compelling case that we and our institutions must divest from fossil fuel investments. I believe that the initiative would …
This is an idea for a television series. The setting would be a post-catharsis world, perhaps about 2050. A generation prior, humankind came to the realization that for our species to persist, required would be a vast reduction in our numbers. After a long international debate it was decided that among other measures, one-half the …
This week marks the 153rd anniversary of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. Each year, thousands gather at the former battlefield. Three years ago, on the 150th anniversary, hundreds of thousands visited for ceremonies, speeches and reenactments. “Lincoln’s timeless words embodied and galvanized us as a nation,” Then Congressman Scott Perry said at a commemorative event, summarizing the …
I propose that we have no more garbage by 2050. Is it feasible? Everything manufactured would need to be recyclable and then recycled. Could our architectural materials evolve to where there would be no construction debris? Could all yard waste be composted? Could packaging materials be modified to be either recycled or composted? What other measures would …
“The only way for a rich man to be healthy is . . . to live as if he were poor.” –Paul Dudley White (1886-1973) If Dr. White, a celebrated cardiologist and pioneer of preventative medicine, were still with us, surely he would have lots to say about our choices of foods. Many of today’s …
Research is needed in every locality for ways to inspire and inform a shift from having our food being provided mainly by agribusiness to being grown locally, mostly in one’s own yard or by means of cottage-industry food production. The primary goal would be to help make self-provisioning mainstream. Considerations: (1) Many writers predict that …
“By the inch it’s a cinch.” My proposal is for an initiative that might be called the “5%-Less Challenge.” The challenge would be quite simple: If each person, each corporation, each community and country were to use (or waste or burn) 5% less each year, we would have a vastly different world in just a decade …