There is no doubt that our daily diet plays a major role in our environmental impact. Our choices of the food that we consume on a daily basis does make a difference. But the good news is that even small changes can add up to significant environmental benefits. It has long be known that our agricultural activities are the greatest drivers of environmental changes. But there is a vital resource that we have that is often overlooked and that is the ocean. If done properly, farming the oceans could...
Mar 09, 2022•26 min•Ep. 65
We already know that agricultural activities produce some of our greatest environmental impact. Yet some sort of agriculture is needed in order to produce food because we are beyond the point of hunting and gathering. World population is expected to reached 9.8 billion by the year 2050. It is projected that agricultural production will have to increase by 60% to 70 % above current levels in order to feed that population. That places us in a conundrum. If we expand our current agricultural activi...
Mar 02, 2022•37 min•Ep. 64
There are several things that I can look back on and definitively say that those things changed the course of my life. For example decisions and choices I made, unexpected events, simply being in the right place at the right time, and sometimes just plain bad luck. And I am sure that many of you can say the same thing. But you know, this is really not all that unusual. I can easily point out several different things, small things, that have been a defining point and have changed the course of hi...
Feb 23, 2022•28 min•Ep. 63
I think we can all agree that we truly live in unprecedented times. We now live in a world that is changing so rapidly that it is difficult for even the most sound minded person to feel some since of security. But that can change by learning to manage some of your own resources. That can change by learning to live a little more independently. That can change by simply living a more sustainable life. Now you would think that would be obvious to all of us. Yet we continue to drive along in our tak...
Feb 16, 2022•25 min•Ep. 62
Over the past year or so, many of our normal activities have been put on hold. But that is starting to change, albeit slowly. If you are at all like me, you want to simply get out of the house and go do something, possibly even travel. But as the world returns to tourism activities once again, what will this return to tourism look like? Or maybe a better question is what should it look like? Although in this episode I want to focus on the basic principles of how to travel with less of an impact,...
Feb 09, 2022•35 min•Ep. 61
In 1950 less than 65 percent of Americans lived in cities. But presently nearly 83% of us live in or around a major city. And this trend is remarkably similar on a global scale. By 2050, it is projected that nearly 70% of the global population will live in urban areas. Now there are a number of reasons for this transition. In fact there are many benefits to move into an urban area. However, while most people may gain something by such a move, we also loose something in that transition. Most peop...
Feb 02, 2022•30 min•Ep. 60
Since the founding of St. Augustine, Florida by Spanish colonist in 1565, and the establishment of the first English settlement in Jamestown, Virginia in 1607, America has always been viewed as the land of opportunity. Economic opportunity, political freedom, and religious freedom were the initial draw to come to the United States. But in the 20th century immigration was stimulated by globalization. Now in the 21st century, there is a completely different reason that people still want to come to...
Jan 26, 2022•26 min•Ep. 59
Did you know there is a direct link between our melting polar ice caps and increased volcanic activity? There is also a link between shrinking buffalo, faster growing trees, and fewer tasty beers coming out of Belgium. And why is the King Crab invading Antarctic when they have never been there before? Almost on a daily basis we hear about the affects of climate change: heat waves, droughts and flooding, increased intensity and frequency of storms. These are just some of the more obvious affects ...
Jan 19, 2022•27 min•Ep. 58
Did you know that you can calculate the atmospheric temperature by using a cricket? Yes it is true and I can even give you the formula if you like. But did you also know that dogs can sense a coming storm? Did you know that sharks can sense an approaching hurricane? And some animals are capable of genetic adaptation in less than 5 years. All of these things are true simply because animals, and even plants, are much more attuned to the environment than the average human. As humans, we have long s...
Jan 09, 2022•23 min•Ep. 57
I actually have no memory of eating store bought meat until I was 18 years old. This is because there were two working farms in my family. We had a large garden and raised a lot of animals. There were numerous fruit and nut trees on the farm. We foraged for berries and went on frequent fishing trips. If that still did not provide enough, we would go to the local farmers market because the things we did buy simply came from local farms. Then I moved to Colorado when I was 18 and started working a...
Jan 02, 2022•28 min•Ep. 56
Since this is the holiday season, I want to diverge a little bit from my usual format but still of course focus on the principles of sustainability. The three pillars of sustainability are economy, society and environment, which can also be translates as profit, people, and planet. Now I am quite certain that the environment would be just fine without any people. But, without people there is also no society and no economy. Consequently, we must address all three pillars to be successful. But wha...
Dec 26, 2021•16 min•Ep. 55
Some of my best childhood memories revolve around holiday celebrations. The holidays were always a time of great excitement and anticipation. They were about family, fun, lots of good food and, of course, Santa Claus. But as I have gotten older, my views on many things have changed, including what I do around the holidays, how I spend my time, and of course whether or not I lay awake at night waiting for Santa Claus. As the Christmas season gets ever closer I really wanted to discuss my personal...
Dec 19, 2021•23 min•Ep. 54
As Americans, we use more paper towels than any country in the world. In fact, in 2017 we spent $5.7 billion on paper towels. But, we do this as simply a matter of convenience. But this is a habit that is enormously detrimental to the environment. . Every day over 3,000 tons of paper towel waste is produced in the US alone. But you see to make one ton of paper towels requires 17 trees and 20,000 gallons of fresh water. So, every day we are throwing away 51,000 trees and essentially wasting 60 mi...
Dec 12, 2021•31 min•Ep. 53
If you have listened to some of my previous episodes, then you have heard me say more than once that preventing a single piece of trash from going to the landfill is not going to save the planet. But, a lifetime of sustainable habits will. Similarly, focusing on your carbon footprint is not what is going to save the planet. Although I discussed the concept of a carbon footprint in E47, there is much more at stake than that. In fact, the whole topic of carbon footprint is a propaganda sham promot...
Dec 05, 2021•34 min•Ep. 52
There are few things I dislike more than going shopping. When I do, it is out of sheer necessity. I walk into a place of business with a mission in mind, purchase what I need and immediately leave. However, online shopping from some e-commerce platform saves me from all of that. It saves me time, gas money, and is enormously convenient. And while I suspect that most people use e-commerce platforms for similar reasons, I really got to wondering if e-commerce is truly our friend or if online shopp...
Nov 28, 2021•28 min•Ep. 51
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization say that agricultural production on a global scale will have to increase by 70% in order to feed a global population that is expected to reach 9.1 billion people by the year 2050. Yet agricultural production is one of the largest drivers for environmental destruction. Decreasing meat production and intake would reduce or eliminate the expansion of livestock operations in order to feed a growing population but we would need an alternative prote...
Nov 21, 2021•25 min•Ep. 50
In E5 I gave an introduction to the concepts of zero waste by talking about 12 Steps to a Zero Waste Lifestyle. Proponents of zero waste admit that it is impossible to generate absolutely no waste. While we can reduce our household waste to almost nothing, we cannot control the production of the products that we use everyday. That being said, in true form to how I like to be, I am not going to teach something that I do not practice myself. That is why I examine my own life on a regular basis and...
Nov 14, 2021•26 min•Ep. 49
Having lived and worked in several different countries what I have learned is that no country or government is perfect. Every place has its problems, its share of corruption, and quirky little things that seem to make life more difficult than it really needs to be. And this includes my home country of the United States. As you could have easily guessed some countries are far worse than others. Now I am not very politically oriented and rarely do I feel compelled to make any sort of strong politi...
Nov 07, 2021•29 min•Ep. 48
Did you know that I can list 10 simple things that you do everyday that pollute the environment. Things that you have perhaps done thousands of times and never given it a thought. And maybe it was the same for me until I produced over 40 episodes about sustainability. But having done so, I have certainly learned a lot of things which has changed my views. For example, the other day as I was holding a can of soup I had purchased from the supermarket, I was thinking about all the energy and resour...
Oct 31, 2021•27 min•Ep. 47
As you can easily believe, the products we products, the things we use everyday and the things we choose to eat directly influences how much waste we product. But what most people do not think about is how we manage our waste has a significant impact on our economy. In fact, that waste management produces one of three types of economies. One of those economies is much more sustainable than the other two. So, if you want a simple, and not so boring lesson on economics, and how it relates directly...
Oct 24, 2021•33 min•Ep. 46
As you likely know by now, I like to criticize how we live and all the wasteful things that we do. And I am especially critical of my own culture in the United States. However, there are a lot of positive things going on in the world related to sustainability. There are governments, international organizations, and some very large businesses that have recognized the importance of sustainability. Some of those businesses, as well as some countries, have been working in that direction for over 40 ...
Oct 17, 2021•32 min•Ep. 45
Did you know that Americans have a chemical dependency problem? And I am not referring to drugs, alcohol, marijuana, or prescription substances. Yet this chemical dependency is a very open and social thing. In fact, it is openly promoted, bragged about, and actually makes you fit in better with the neighbors. Then we depend on those chemicals in order to make our lives function properly. We are even told it is the right thing to do. Then we use 71 million pounds per year of these chemicals and w...
Oct 10, 2021•34 min•Ep. 44
A number of years ago I had the opportunity to travel extensively through the Amazon basin. I visited remote villages and saw things that most people never see except on the pages of National Geographic. Yet there are so many people in the world that will never have that opportunity nor are they willing to take the risk. Most people would rather view a wild animal in a cage instead of seeing that same animal in the natural world. It is much safer that way. That is in fact what most people do whe...
Oct 03, 2021•29 min•Ep. 43
For multiple reasons, it is entirely possible for our power grid to go down not just for a few days, but for weeks to months. In this episode I discuss some very real scenarios of how this could happen and how it has happened. But what most people do not understand is that if there is a grid down event, whether that be from nature causes or a malicious attack, if the damage is widespread enough, it could take over a year to repair the damage. Our power grid is far more vulnerable that most of us...
Sep 26, 2021•29 min•Ep. 42
Among the hundreds of people waiting to visit Mahatma Gandhi was a mother and her young son. When it was their turn, the woman asked Gandhi to speak with her son about eating sugar. Gandhi asked her to come back in two weeks. When they returned Gandhi spoke with the boy, who agreed to begin working to eliminate sweets. After thanking Gandhi for his advice, the mother asked him why he did not offer his advice the first time. Gandhi replied, “Upon your visit two weeks ago I too was eating sugar.” ...
Sep 19, 2021•29 min•Ep. 41
About 10 years ago, Annette and her son and I were sitting in a small cafe in some far corner of Costa Rica. Her son Erik was still very young at the time and this was his first trip out of the country. As we were sitting at the table looking at the menu, Erik proclaimed, “I want a glass of orange juice.” I informed him that he could not have a glass of orange juice because they just don’t have that here” It was his first lesson that when you travel outside your home country, you just cannot exp...
Sep 12, 2021•29 min•Ep. 40
We literally live in a sea of micro-plastics. These tiny particles can be found from the deepest place on the planet, the Mariana Trench, to the highest mountain, Mount Everest. By simply living, eating, breathing, and going about your normal day, you are consuming plastic particles. This is just another contaminant that scientists, the government, and health officials are going to tell us that there are "acceptable levels" and there is nothing to worry about. But, get informed and make that dec...
Sep 05, 2021•30 min•Ep. 39
Take a good look at your lifestyle. I think it is safe to say that most of us live under such a cloud clutter that we have long forgotten what it is like to live a simple life, much less a sustainable one. Yet there is a lot of value in having a simple life. In fact, simplicity tends to push us toward sustainability. And that is the point of this episode. First I want to prove to you how I was guilty of the same thing for many years. Then I want to tell you how I changed that. Then I will give y...
Aug 29, 2021•36 min•Ep. 38
It is basic human nature that at a subconscious level, all humans crave normalcy, routine, and familiarity. This is especially true during a disaster or some other stressful event. Small children carry stuffed animals and security blankets for comfort. As adults we mentally carry security blankets in the form of “having our own place”, or “waking up in our own bed”. We also find security in starting our day with our favorite coffee, tea, or some other food item. But what would you do if someone ...
Aug 22, 2021•23 min•Ep. 37
As Americans, plain and simple, we are addicted to convenience. It is almost to the point of being ridiculous. And that convenience results in a short attention span, very little patience, and a wasteful lifestyle. But there is a different way to live, and a better way to live that is more environmentally friendly. And in the end of this episode I am going to give you 12 different ways to live differently. But in the end I truly believe that it is the responsibility of each and every one of us t...
Aug 15, 2021•29 min•Ep. 36
