When the right answer comes out of a flawed paradigm, what outcomes can reasonably be expected? The preamplifiers of the National Ignition Facility are the first step in increasing the energy of laser beams as they make their way toward the target chamber. Photo credit: Damien Jemison/LLNL Fusion Is the Answer. When I went to … Continue reading Fusion is the Answer. Are We Asking the Right Question?
Some of the most important things we're losing are right before our eyes and yet it's as if we're unable to see them changing. My friend Vivek Srinivasan lives in Bangalore, India and a recent blog post of his calls attention to something we're barely talking about at all in the U.S. where the event … Continue reading One Mississippi . . .
This November brings world-defining elections in several countries, a global climate summit, the 100th anniversary of a major historical discovery, and a human population milestone. Try as we might to view them separately, they're unavoidably connected as are the people circumambulating this planet. Close-up Photography of Water Drops on a Web, photo on Pixabay In … Continue reading Our Unavoidably Interconnected World
The perennial wisdom that there is no free lunch holds for all things in our daily life -- from what we eat, to how we shelter and clothe ourselves, to our education, our means of transportation, our vacations, and even how we entertain ourselves at home. But are we paying the true cost for these … Continue reading Simplicity and the True Cost of Everything
What do we inadvertently prioritize in our lives -- the least inconvenient thing to do or the most important thing to do? Photo by Tom Fisk on Pexels.com Much has been written about the importance of convenience in our world today. From a consumer perspective the importance of convenience has a positive connotation. From the … Continue reading Convenience versus Importance
With an array of approaches ranging from political and corporate greenwashing to going it alone with a small community of others, is there a best option for dealing with a world of drought, heat, fire, and floods? [Note to Readers: This is a long essay that is best read on something other than a cell … Continue reading A Continuum of Approaches to the Climate Crisis
(Photo by Ryan Baker on Unsplash) My beloved friend and cerebral soulmate of 34 years departed this material world today. She's no longer in pain, no longer trying with such determination to continue a life she wasn't ready yet to give up on. She's now free, light, and one with all that is. So are … Continue reading What Does Matter?
George Carlin, democracy, and parrhēssia (an ancient form of authentic truth-telling) all challenge free-for-all cancel culture. (Alexas_Fotos on Pixabay) In the new documentary George Carlin's American Dream, Jon Stewart references Carlin's iconic sketch on "stuff" and points out that "my shit is stuff and your stuff is shit" can be understood as a summation of … Continue reading Speaking the Truth
The global environmental crisis is not monolithic. Treating it as such will keep us from effectively addressing the many complex issues involved. (Photo by Philippe Bonnaire on Pexels) When it comes to the most urgent aspects of the current environment in which humans and other fauna and flora live, it's become a matter of course … Continue reading The Challenge in How We Think, Talk, and Act Regarding the Global Environmental Crisis
At every turn-- large and small-- we make the choice to take a closer look so we may see as clearly as possible or to look away and let "what is" remain obscured to us. It is the choice between clarity and obnubilation. (photo by Hasan Almasi on Unsplash) I didn't know the verb obnubilate. … Continue reading The Choice: Clarity or Obnubilation
Depending upon whether one follows the expansionist or the reductionist perspective, there are as many as eighteen and as few as four known species of Homo that have lived on this planet. In either case, there is only one living here today.{1} As the climate changes dramatically, a collective fear is that it will mean … Continue reading The Earth Changes But Persists
At some time and in some place, most of us have had the feeling of walking right on top of the footsteps of people here much earlier than we are now. For me, this feeling can happen almost anywhere. I felt it when walking down an old wharf in Boston, thinking I may be walking upon … Continue reading Covering Shared Ground
The Principles of Being 