Not to be a downer, but one of the most beautiful places on the planet is burning. Any kid who’s seen Star Wars could recognize this as the forest moon of Endor; many adults will know a redwood forest when they see one. But whatever you call it, this wooded retreat is magic. In fact,…
Category: Thought
What I was going to say…
Nothing is about all I can muster at the moment. The Australian wildfires are simultaneously the one thing on my mind and the one thing I’m refusing to think about. I was working on a list of resources for composting in New York but I am experiencing a bit of a collapse at the moment….
Studying climate change with friends
This week I’ll begin a distance learning course on the topic of climate change, and I’ll be joined by a few friends. We’ll be studying the materials on our own and as a group, then hopefully we’ll be sharing what we learn with others through discussion nights, workshops, or other methods. The course is offered…
RIP Recycling
Growing up, sorting the recycling wasn’t a chore; it was something that one did automatically. I don’t remember a time when our household didn’t recycle, so I was horrified when I grew up and found out that I moved among people who put their bottles and cans in the trash along with their spent tissues,…
To the redwoods via air travel
Last weekend, I attended a seminar on the opposite coast. I had reservations about attending. Would I get anything out of the experience? Would the people I met there get anything out of it? Would the seminar be worth the cost of registration and air travel? Would it be worth the greenhouse gases that I…
Forget everything I ever said about Package Free.
When I first heard about Package Free, a store that sells household basics and staples without (you guessed it) packaging, I was intrigued. Sure, I already had a large cache of supplies to help me wend my way toward a zero-waste lifestyle—reusable bags, glass jars, travel mug, bar soap, white vinegar, safety razor and gazillion…
This is why I’ll never achieve a zero waste life
Ceci n’est pas une tasse. This is not a cup. I requested a cup at the coffee shop, one of the ceramic cups on the shelf sitting underneath the tea display, but I was given this thing, which is not a cup. And it’s not anyone’s fault (except that it is a lot of someones’…
The Book I May Never Finish
In 2014, Naomi Klein published a book called This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate. In 2019, I checked it out at the New York Public Library. A month later, I was filled with a fathomless weariness and was ready to lay down on the floor and never get up. When I started reading This…
The Awakening
Sooner or later, all good sleeps must come to an end. And so, although the hour is late, I’m waking up. You know those mornings when you open your eyes and the sun is already in the sky? It’s on these mornings that I’m filled with a kind of dread. “I’ve already wasted half the day,”…
Climate Conscious 