The Story of Stuff

The Story of Stuff chronicles the journey of our stuff – our everyday purchases – from extraction, production, distribution, consumption, and finally, to disposal.  It answers some of the questions of how we got to the point we are now as a society. When I first saw this about a year ago, the biggest revelation [...]

A Conservationist Lifestyle

I admire the concerted efforts of groups of people to protect natural resources. Conservationists provide service to all of us that can’t be overestimated in value. Last Sabbath, I had a once-in-a-lifetime experience of visiting what is perhaps Thailand’s most beautiful national park. I’m finishing up my two years of living in Thailand, preparing to [...]

What I can do without

It was one of those epiphany moments when I realized today exactly what happens when I buy fast food. I like fast food in general. There’s a burrito shop in my hometown that I could eat from every day without getting tired of it. Being a vegetarian is slightly less fun when it comes to [...]

Garbage close to my heart

Koh Chang (Thai for Elephant Island) is a favorite vacation destination for my wife and me. Thailand’s second largest island after Phuket, Koh Chang is a combination of rugged mountains and pristine beaches. Many native species of birds and reptiles populate the island; elephants reside there as well. Koh Chang’s warm waters teem with brightly [...]

Trashing Outer Space

Humans are taking littering to a whole new level. This time, we’re talking about a trash problem that is beyond global–it’s very literally out of this world. We’re talking about space debris (pictured at left – courtesy NASA). In this image, each white dot represents some piece of space debris that NASA is tracking. Debris [...]