May 2008
Five Dealbreakers for Humanity
May 2008 | Metahistory.org | John Lash
Imagine that we as a species consciously made a pact with the planet, a long-term agreement. These five issues show how we can keep the pact, or risk blowing the agreement. [read more]
Why Bother?
April 20, 2008 | New York Times | Michael Pollan
Measured against the Problem We Face, planting a garden sounds pretty benign, I know, but in fact it's one of the most powerful things an individual can do--to reduce your carbon footprint, sure, but more important, to reduce your sense of dependence and dividedness: to change the cheap-energy mind. [read more].
The Birth of Blue
April 12, 2008 | Grist.com
In 2004, Adam Werbach shocked the ’green’ community by standing on stage at the Commonwealth Club of San Francisco and performing an autopsy on the environmentalism movement. On April 10, 2008, Adam returned to the scene of the crime and called for a new "blue" movement of consumers pushing for sustainability. Here's the full text of the speech for your reading pleasure. [watch here]
A thin envelope, a full life
April 28, 2008 | Boston Globe | Matthew B. Koss
Around this time of year, many high-school seniors feel less worthy because they have been rejected by the college of their choice. I hope the story of my friend Thor Hesla provides a measure of perspective. [read more].
Promised Land
May 2008 | Fast Company | Anya Kamenetz
Whole Systems Design transforms landscapes into low-cost, productive spaces. Will your corporate campus be next? [read more]
Leasing the ocean for wind harvesting
May 12, 2008 | Plenty Magazine | Emily Waltz
Federal laws limit the leasing of the outer continental shelf for energy harvesting almost entirely to oil and gas explorers. Or at least until now. A federal agency in April announced 16 candidates will be leased blocks of the shelf for renewable energy projects. For about the cost of renting a New York City studio apartment, lessees get nine square miles of ocean floor and a five-year rental agreement. [read more]
Childish superstition: Einstein's letter makes view of religion relatively clear
May 13 2008 | The Guardian | James Randerson
"Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind." So said Albert Einstein, and his famous aphorism has been the source of endless debate between believers and non-believers wanting to claim the greatest scientist of the 20th century as their own. A little known letter written by him, however, may help to settle the argument - or at least provoke further controversy about his views. [read more].
You Walk Wrong
April 21, 2008 | New York Magazine | Adam Sternbergh
It took 4 million years of evolution to perfect the human foot. But we’re wrecking it with every step we take. [read more].
A human being is a part of the whole, called by us "Universe," a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest -- a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty."
- Albert Einstein
