The Functional Future
Dear Melissa, My Father died on December 14, 2011 about 20 minutes after I arrived in Los Angeles, from my home in Wisconsin. Afterwards, I went crazy with my sister, her husband, and my Mom, and then sank down into less reactive sadness, being with my children and wife who arrived a day later, and […]
Letter to Melissa Coleman Read More »
This film, Fuel (2009), was recommended by a friend and new father (M.J.). I just watched it online here. Very well done, inspiring. Great history of fossil fuels, discussion of peak oil, the relationship between oil and our entire economy, our political system, and our way of life…and then, it goes beyond that to a
Fuel: A Review of the Movie on Biofuels Read More »
It doesn’t matter whether we view a glass as half-full or half-empty unless that view affects the risks we take in our behavior. If we collapse in despair because we are too half-empty, that is not helpful. If we are an overjoyed bull in a china shop because we are too half-full, that is also not helpful. The point isn’t whether the glass is half-empty or half-full but whether this amount of water is enough for the purpose at hand.
Unrealistic Optimism: The Woman with the Angel-Demon Tattoo Read More »
We can live lives that are beautiful, rich, connected, and sustainable. They can be sustainable for ourselves, our families, our communities, and the planet. We know how to do this…now. We have never had greater knowledge of historical successes and failures, greater technological help, greater resources, or broader access to different modern models for how
Sustainable well-being Read More »
How absurd would it be if the coal miner, who brings a canary with him to warn of poisonous methane gas in the mine, then died because he ignored the canary’s warning?! This little musical story is a modern version of that (see below, but there’s a visual version of the same point that isn’t
Be here, now, Canary Read More »
Introducing your Community Supported Sustainable Lakehouse (CSSL). Your CSSL awaits! We are creating a test-field for a culture that maximizes sustainable well-being by adhering to the 4 principles of sustainability articulated by the Natural Step, using only the resources available if those resources were fairly distributed. In the short-term, we share a beautiful vacation and camping spot. In the long term, we share a permaculture food forest and model lifeboat.
Life Design: Your CSSL* awaits [* Community Supported Sustainable Lakehouse] Read More »
For the beginning of our third year of Swabi retreats, we started to explore transitioning the group to another phase. These videos explain this transition while also providing some idea of what the retreats are about. Part I, New Ways of Living, shows examples of cohousing and permaculture-inspired ecovillages as potential models for living sustainably.
Sustainable Well-being Retreats: Version 2.0 Read More »