A Sense of Urgency: It’s Too Late to do Nothing for Earth

I try to keep the tone mostly warm and friendly here but what drives me to write is very serious. We are facing… no, strike that. We are creating a planetary emergency. Let me state a few facts and then tie them all together. The Earth has an energy imbalance due to added greenhouse gasses […]

Season of Giving

We are right in the middle of the season often associated with giving. It is a time to express gratitude and love for those we care about, adding meaning and depth to our lives. It is all too easy to become sidetracked however. What could be a beautiful opportunity for reflection and conscious interaction is […]

Five Years and Counting

Our Home is changing – unnaturally and much too quickly. The Earth’s fragile, life-sustaining balance is shifting due to rapid and massive releases of carbon, dug up from beneath the surface and thrust into the atmosphere at an explosive rate. This “Sacred Balance,” as Professor David Suzuki so eloquently described it in his book by […]

Taking Back Our Future

Last week’s National Clean Energy Summit provided a partial snapshot of the status of our nation’s shift toward clean energy. It featured a wide range of presentations representing green building, military, commerce, transportation, utilities, manufacturing and labor interests. The message was strong and clear: Renewable energy along with a vast array of innovative technology is […]

The Insanity of Nuclear Energy

Lately it’s difficult to think about anything except the recent horrific events in Japan. My heart goes out to everyone involved. Disasters like the earthquake and tsunami are mostly unavoidable; they are a natural part of our planet’s evolution. The ongoing nuclear disaster is another story. The world would be quite a different place without […]

Getting a Green Workout

I got to the gym a little late yesterday and it was already dark outside. After checking in at the desk at Sun City Anthem’s Liberty Center, I headed for the locker room. As I opened the door, the lights were out and it was pitch black inside. It wasn’t that late and the place […]

Winter Solstice – Imagining Home

My perspective of home expands when I think of the coming winter solstice. A few of the sun’s rays reach deep into my office as I write these words, an occurrence peculiar to this time of year and south-facing windows. Other beams of light meet a different fate, ending their eight-minute sojourn from the nuclear […]

A Snowball’s Chance

The Copenhagen climate talks are behind us and the results were, shall we say, suboptimal. Despite dire warnings from the world’s brightest scientists, along with more than ample physical evidence of the need for immediate action, the world’s leaders have again, well, failed to lead. Spectacularly I might add. Copenhagen yielded no new treaty or […]

Local Gardens – Organic Food

“Food and Hunger: Eating in America” was the topic of a panel discussion presented by the Black Mountain Institute last week at UNLV. The panel included celebrated chef and author Alice Waters, writer and organic farmer David Mas Masumoto and noted food scholar Raj Patel. The conversation was meaningful, thought-provoking, and at times, witty and […]

Green Options for Homebuyers

It’s exciting to see the transformation taking place in the home building market. Perhaps the best example is the new Villa Trieste development by Pulte Homes. Located in Summerlin, this community of 185 homes is leading the way when it comes to responsible building in Southern Nevada. The community has gotten some good coverage recently […]