Several of my close colleagues have recently expressed a desire to call themselves “Libertarians,” perhaps in an effort to dissociate themselves from the dysfunctional liberal/conservative dialogue. Wow — researching stuff in 2019 is quite different from the 1970’s! In fact, I would argue that in the not too distant future, even all this typing (and […]
Panama
Since I am, among other things, a semi-retiree, I felt drawn to visit Panama City, Panama to see whether all the popular press that is touting Panama as the perfect retirement haven is accurate. I spent 7 nights in Panama City, did not rent a car and tried to understand the City itself. I did […]
A new paradigm for recycling
I spent Mother’s Day arguing about the current U.S. recycling process with a Trump supporter family member that was less than satisfying. It was not until a 17 year old family member reminded us that it was Mother’s Day, that we ceased the relatively heated discussion. The interaction give me a taste of the sheer […]
The Green New Deal & Recycling
Back in 2014, The Natural Resilience Foundation started advocating for a Green New Deal. As the Green New Deal movement grows worldwide, it is becoming evident that a key towards universal jobs (conservatives) or universal basic income (liberals) does not involve subsidizing obsolete industries like fossil fuels, internal combustion engine automobile production, most forms of […]
Take the Power — Recycling and Plastic and other stuff
Happy New Year to all! For some strange reason, I am quite optimistic about this New Year — 2019. My idea for #takethepower has solidified into supporting young new Politicians like Beto O’Rourke and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and nurture them with seasoned female politicians to create a more matriarchal society here in America. Frankly, the two […]
Democracy in America
Appropo of the soon to arrive U.S. midterm elections, I thought I would let you know about a book I am very slowly working on that I call Reverse de Tocqueville; I look at the effort as a sort of life work so have no great compunction to publish during my lifetime but if […]
Adaptive use for Shopping Malls
I read recently read that Sears was filing for bankruptcy and it made me think that the company waited too long to liquidate their real estate. Online retailing has decimated many brick and mortar businesses as, simultaneously, companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Google and Apple have started to open or acquire brick and mortar operations. […]
Nomadic Infrastructure — Tiny Homes and Yurts+
Back in the fall of 2016, when Joaquin Matias and I began work on A Call to Action, Klaus Jacob, the noted Columbia University geophysicist, mentioned to us the term: “Nomadic Instructure.” When we asked him, what exactly it meant, he said he was not really sure, but his work in Lagos, Africa had observed […]
Towards a matriarchal society
My extensive traveling through Europe and the western portion of the U.S. has got me to thinking about how we can transition from our current socio-political and economic situation — like it or not — most people think that there is too much income inequality and the standard of living for the average person may […]
European Tour – Sustainability, Adaptation and Immigration Issues
As I write this I am at a very nice Airbnb condo in Oslo, Norway Day 5 of a 17 day sojourn to figure out how Europe is doing with respect to sustainability and resilience in some of its major northern European cities: Hamburg/HafenCity, Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockhom and Helsinki. I end the trip basically with […]