Leadership And The Environment

Maxine shares her experience with her commitment across the country. She moved partly to enable living by her values. People often suggest it's easier for someone living in New York not to fly since I have access to so much culture here, but access to many cultures only matters if you value it. Not everyone does. I hope you live where you can access things you value. If you don't, no amount of travel will overcome that you live where you don't like.I mention this because Maxine could live by her values better not in New York. She sounds like she's still flying a bunch, she didn't commit to avoiding flying (yet). As we talk about in our conversation, we build up to bigger changes through smaller ones.Note how often she describes the discomfort that changing to acting on her values liberates her from. I believe we all feel that discomfort when we know we're acting against our values. We know when we're polluting. No amount of rationalization that "everyone else is doing it", "the plane was going to fly anyway",

How do you become one of the premier investigative journalists at one of the premier publishers of investigative journalism? In general, how do you excel in an area with no established path? I consider figuring out how essential in leading others.I feel sad when I hear people say, "I'd like to help the environment, but there are no jobs in it." Of course not! When culture is the problem, following others won't solve it. Leading others requires leading yourself first.Jesse and I have known each other since college in the 1980s, so he shares his path from the start. On the surface, you'll hear him describe his failures, yet he kept rising to more responsibilities. Listen between the lines to hear what prompted the rise. I heard integrity, passion, persistence, vision, and intangibles that don't show up on resumes, but lead to success. What do you hear?After his personal story, Jesse shares his take of American values and culture and how it's changed in his professional lifetime. He hints at what he's working on

Michael shares about avoiding using a smart phone, or at least using a minimally functional smart phone. Do you remember what life was like without yours? What does solitude mean to you?How much time do you spend on a smart phone? Would you like to reduce it? What would you do instead? What are we missing? How about emotion, love, freedom, and joy?He talks about the irony spending money to help us handle our addiction to those who cause the addiction. It sounds like doof. We talk about addiction, our purposes, and being distracted from them.The above is the starting point of what life is about when not distracted all the time: freedom, family, community, our values, and understanding those things. You'll also hear scripture quoted joyfully than in most conversations.If you've considered a digital fast, I recommend listening as motivation to do it. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Allegheny College was one of the first 10 institutions of higher education in the United States to be declared carbon neutral by an organization called Second Nature. Readers of my blog know my skepticism of claims of "net zero" or "carbon neutral," but I look for people in leadership positions acting genuinely and authentically toward sustainability.So I bring you Allegheny's president, Dr. Hilary Link. She shares the college's experience starting a decade ago, before her arrival, and its institutional long-term action. She also shares her helping her peers do similar work at other schools.Allegheny College took on the challenge without a substantial endowment, a large staff, or a big budget. For the last five years, the College's Environmental Science and Sustainability program has been listed among the top five in the U.S. for its interdisciplinary, experiential approach.Like most guests, she agreed to share her environmental values and commit to live by them personally. See acast.com/privacy for privacy a

Chad shares his experience motivating his family to try to bring them camping with him. You'll hear they didn't make it easy. I couldn't resist asking questions about his experience of nature, people, and sex without sight. I didn't want to ask questions everyone asks, but he graciously answered.His mindset also emerged of how to handle life's challenges, which he shared. If I could give people new technologies for sustainability or his attitude, I would pick his attitude, since it would enable others to solve their problems. If losing your sight would be a greater challenge than living sustainably, well, he sounds pretty happy and successful handling a greater challenge. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

"People want to act, but it's hard," my business friend said to me, speaking on the environment. I said it to myself for most of my life before learning that acting on the environment, however hard, was fun. Raising a child is hard too, but people do it.This time we happened to be speaking over video and recording it. I'm posting what I happened to say extemporaneously. I wouldn't describe it as a rant, but sort of close. I talked about slavery, abolition, learning, doing hard things, and more.I said what I wish someone had said to me twenty years ago. I would have acted earlier. It also shares how someone who has acted more sustainably for more than a few years thinks.The video version, so you can see me saying it See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Blake shares his results about acting on his commitments from last time. He couldn't work much with rowing with temperatures barely above freezing, but he could act on his diet. He also dusted off an old habit of shooting, which he shared about.We also got to talking about nuclear and alternative energy sources. He asked me my views, so I shared the long-term results I saw from it based on humanity's past.We also spoke of the Bible, Job, and ponder the meaning of having dominion over nature in the context of causing extinctions globally.Beneath all the content, I think you'll hear a friendship growing. I find the discipline of athletes, artists, leaders, and others in ASEEP fields develops the skills and experience to act thoughtfully and effectively. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

I've been following Katharine for years. If you don't know of her, after our conversation, watch her TED talk and read her book, Saving Us: A Climate Scientist's Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World. It comprises decades of science, leadership, and efforts to live sustainably, the overlap I consider essential to influencing people on sustainability.Our conversation is about hope, faith, science, love, and our sledding hills. We know the science, but enough to know not to dwell it it, but to know what we're talking about. Then we apply our values to determine what to do.She's worked at this leading in sustainability to know what to do, and it's not just to focus on the science. The value of our actions is not just the footprint but our shadow: whom we affect. The reason to act is not for an abstract "environment" but for our values, especially shared ones. Connect with people, including ourselves, on what we care about.The goal isn't to lecture people but to help connect the dots between what they care

Here are the notes I read from for this episode:Will hit 70 next week.Dawning on people what has dawned on what we now call the global south, that the projections are more serious than they internalized. That their world is going to be rocked. Maybe they realize, that this will be the coldest Christmas for the next ten thousand years and that billions of people may be displaced. Maybe they realize that you can't move billions of people without many of them dying. The global north, including you, will not let more people into the country than are there now..Many people considering polluting less. A few asking me about not flying, which for years no one would consider.But their life depends on polluting activities. They didn't ask for system. What can they do, never see their family again? Think of all the good they can bring the world.They just took down Thomas Jefferson's statue. Should they have? What excuse for owning slaves?He inherited. Didn't ask for. Owning them allowed him to spend more time with famil

I met Nate on Citizens Climate Lobby panel on conservatives and climate, then read his National Review piece, Toward a Conservative Environmentalism, which we talk about in this conversation.I've looked forward to a conversation like this for a long time: a thoughtful approach to the environment that isn't politicized. Nate doesn't hide his values and approach, but understands and respects alternative views.He shares views on questions likeHow does an approach to conserving the environment look when based on limited government, free market capitalism, and honoring small communities and family?How have political conservatives responded to his views?How do those responses vary in time and by age?What is the future of conservatives on the environment?What are conservatives doing and how is their approach developing and evolving?Most of all: Is there common ground among Americans with different political views on sustainability? If so, how can we find and build it? Toward a Conservative Environmentalism, by Nate

Two great reasons to listen to this episode. First, David is a tremendous science communicator. He's experienced, thoughtful, funny, and communicates simply without dumbing down. He's worked with some of the most important sources, like NOVA, the New York Times, TED, CBS Sunday Morning, and more. He's accurate and fun, a rare combination. I think it comes from his passion for knowledge and people.Second, his book fills an important role. As we start our conversation, neither of us could believe no one had written such an important book. On my side, I focus and changing culture. Most focus on lowering emissions. He agrees on the importance of these things. We also have to respond to the changes we can't stop. We can't change the past. Even if we stop polluting today, we'll feel effects of past behavior for decades, centuries, even millennia.His book tackles what to do just to continue with life. Losing composure or panicking doesn't help your life or society. How readable is it? I read the over-600-page book i

NOTE: I recommend watching the video of this episode, not just listening to the audio.What does the environment mean to you?We are motivated by what's in our hearts more than facts or numbers so I believe we will act more when we connect with what's in our hearts, which inspires us. The fastest, most effective way to influence governments and corporations is to act ourselves here and now, keep acting, keep learning, and then lead others based on our experience acting.I also ask most of my podcast guests what the environment means to them. I start my third TEDx talk, Stop Suggesting Small Things. Do Meaningful Things, with my answer by saying how I grew up near the best sledding hill in the world.I visited for the first time in a long time, took a few pictures, and narrated them. I hope the experiences put you in touch with what you find meaningful in nature.I couldn't bear in the video to comment how this idyllic appearing spot isn't far from where I got mugged a couple times, my bike stolen, threatened with

I recorded my second conversation with my mom about my childhood and before during the pandemic, in the spring of 2020. Shortly after recording our first conversation, which covered race, George Floyd was murdered. You know the rest. I knew we had spent years as white minorities in India and in a black neighborhood in Philadelphia, at least part time.I was curious to learn more of the time she would have remembered better. In this episode we talk about being redlined, being the victim of race-based violence and objectifying, as well as the access to opportunity to resources for our skin color. Also friends who narrowly escaped Hitler, why my mom converted from Lutheran to Judaism, and bringing classes of her black students from Chicago in the 1960s to where she grew up in South Dakota, where the students declared the Native Americans had it worse.I've never understood the world people describe me coming from. I'm curious to hear the white experience from suburbs, never having lived as a minority, little crime

Longtime listeners will remember Laura from episodes 192 and 209, over two years ago. Her book, Emotional Obesity, made a big effect on me, as did her warmth and move from success in tech entrepreneurship to her podcast, The Art of Authenticity. She pursued authenticity in herself and her coaching clients.We became friends and kept in touch since. She's continued exploring, where it led. As you'll hear in this episode she shared with me where it's led, which she's sharing in three new books, The Nature of Love, The Nature of Self Love, and The Nature of Boundaries, available here. In them she explores and shares about an energy field called Akasha and its access to otherwise unseen wisdom and more.I'd never heard of Akasha either. As you'll hear, Laura acknowledges her current work lies out of the mainstream and said I didn't have to bring her on if I didn't want. Of course, I'm bringing a longtime guest and friend back. From my perspective, trying to view everyone's perception of the supernatural with an ope

At last, a conversation with a knowledgeable economist!Longtime listeners remember Michael here after his last book. He just published a new one, The Decarbonization Imperative: Transforming the Global Economy by 2050. His book and our conversation cover why should we go to net zero by 2050, is it possible, and, if so, how?We agree on the mission of dramatically cutting emissions and most strategies to achieve it. We disagree on the relative importance of some strategies and measures. Listen to hear our respective views, healthy agreement, and healthy disagreement. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Two of this podcast's top goals areTo bring leaders to share and act on their environmental values, from any area, but especially polluting fieldsTo help change culture from expecting sustainability is a chore or burden to expecting joy, lightness, freedom, and reward. Both happened in this episode.On the second, you'll hear when I invite Scott to act, he had something in mind (he knows This Sustainable Life!). It sounded extrinsically motivated so I asked if it connected with the values he had just shared. As we spoke, more personal things emerged. Do you hear a different level of interest and depth of motivation for his second task? Does it sound intrinsic and more motivating?I heard between the two commitments the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic, between leadership and management. Most of what passes for motivating people on sustainability in the media sounds to me more like coercion, implying people don't want to do it.On the first goal, Scott is the CEO/Founder of a company that sells fossil f

Cassiano's first episode led to more listener comments than most. People loved his enthusiasm. I find guys who know martial arts tend to speak with a security. The opposite of insecure or desperate. So I think people found him accessible and engaging.I think you'll find him more so this episode. Of course, we talk a bit about his world record for burpees. As you can tell from this episode's title, he fulfilled his commitment by buying a banzai tree. He loved it! He shares his experience buying it, caring for it, and designing it, or grooming it. I'm not sure the right word.Sadly, I lost the video of the tree, but you can hear him describing it. You may remember from his first episode that he saw a missing connection to nature for humans in cities. I think you'll agree that the tree's value and effect on Cassiano transcends just something he takes care of. We talk about values and how to enjoy life. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

I see exactly two highest priorities for material goals to restore Earth's ability to sustain life. One is keeping fossil fuels in the ground. Down there it's safe. Above ground, it's poison and deadly. However clear and straightforward, almost no one focuses on this simple, effective, attainable goal.Katie does. Our first conversation was just starting when we had to stop. We mostly talked that time about her past, groundbreaking work. In this episode we talk about her present work with pipelines in the U.S., their disproportionate effects on communities based on class, race, and more, and her work on them.You can hear her passion in every sentence. I felt connected with someone so devoted and passionate, not waiting for others to act. This episode will rouse even the complacent among you.(The second priority is outside the scope of Katie and my conversation: returning global population to a level Earth can sustain through voluntary, noncoercive means such as practiced at national levels by several nations a

I've meant to record this episode for a while, as the idea of saying "fuck it," not trying, forgetting about the future and my effect on others, and enjoying what our society offers seems everyone else's choice.So I'm going full snarky. A rare unedited episode, starting from these minimal notes:Reasons not to careMoneyClothesTravelUnderstandingDisgust, can look awayDisposabilityKids: was going to say I couldn't look them in the eyeSales and marketingGet credit anywayShowersCarsEat anythingCommunitySociety is for youReasons to careHelp other people you don't know and aren't bornAnimalsWhy I can't not careI lack the privilege of scientific ignorance  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Mike and I are in an online writing group together. For a while I knew him as the funny and diligent guy whose books have thousands of reviews online. Then I read his big one, Profit First. I know entrepreneurship from living it, so I expected to skim it, but two things. His writing is as funny and engaging as he is and what he wrote was new and valuable. Those who have read it know what I mean when I share that I set up my five accounts right after finishing it.Next I read Fix This Next and loved it too. I couldn't skim it because it also contained richness that I couldn't just gloss over. Plus it's fun, funny, and vulnerable. Both books covered values and acting on them. I invited him to the podcast and he loved the idea.I don't know if he realizes how relevant his approach to entrepreneurship is to sustainability. Like previous guest Steven Pressfield's, The War of Art, I could copy Mike's books switching entrepreneurial things like profligate polluting for sustainability things lik profligate spendin