I have a friend who grew up in rural Minnesota. His favorite expression is, “You can’t put a duck bill on a beaver and call it a platypus.” This aphorism pretty much sums up urban thinking about rural America. We try to make it something it isn’t, and then [...]
I have a friend that says that in order to change the presidency in America, we need to have a stock market crash. I know others, who claim to be environmentalists, that are secretly glad that Australia and California are burning to ash and hope for more disaster. Or [...]
I’ve been thinking about this for a while. I’m not a New Year’s Resolution type of person. For me, if I want to make a change, I usually just do it. Sometimes it takes a while. A couple of attempts. Changes can be really hard for any of us, [...]
I have a friend who laments the loss of hope with regard to the climate crisis. I hear this a lot in climate organizations. You work your ass off for months or years trying to stop a toxic pipeline, and then they put it in anyway. Or you can’t [...]
2019 has been a tough year for work on the climate crisis. From fires in California, Australia, the Amazon and the Arctic, to hurricanes, floods and melting ice sheets, the news is grim. But it is not all doom and gloom. While we certainly have a long way to [...]
It usually happens after every talk I’ve given around the country. The talk is over and a few people are gathered up front to make 1:1 comments or ask a question. A person waits politely for other conversations to finish. Their question usually begins with a qualification such as, [...]
Really? This is a recent headline from a joint Washington Post and Kaiser Family Foundation survey. Both are reputable organizations. Yet part of the conclusion is misleading and based on a biased question from fossil fuel talking points. The takeaway from this headline seems to be that climate action [...]
Thank you for the work you do on climate. You are part of the solution to the biggest challenge ever faced by humankind. Future generations will look back and ask, how did you have the courage to put aside your differences and work together in the face of incredible [...]
For me, the last raspberry is the sweetest. Perhaps bitter sweet. All summer I’ve watered them and kept invasive Japanese Beetles and birds off with netting, and tried to protect them, knowing this time was coming. I like to record the date of the last raspberry. Over 25 years, [...]
She’s young enough to add ½ to her age; 5 and ½. She’s tired. It’s been a long day. Her name is Sol, the youngest of my grandkids. She has trouble with her “L’s” and tells me that she’s going to trade in their old family Nissan for a [...]
