Alan Thirty-four years ago, motivated to align my personal diet with my concerns about the environment, I stopped eating meat. Strictly speaking, I became ovo-lacto vegetarian, meaning I ate eggs and dairy, but no other animal foods. Twenty-four years ago, when I returned home to the Northwest, I added the occasional serving of fish (carefully … Read more
Alan It’s just three weeks now since Cascadia lost Alex Dold, another young man killed by the combination of untreated mental illness, untrained police, and a broken mental health care system. Alex, 29, fell into crisis and—haunted by the demons created by his mental illness—became a danger to himself and his family. Desperate to protect … Read more
Alan Dave Roberts’ long article about the rise of what he calls “tribal epistemology” is my lead pick for what you should read. In tribal epistemology, Information is evaluated based not on conformity to common standards of evidence or correspondence to a common understanding of the world, but on whether it supports the tribe’s values … Read more
Alan At this week’s staff meeting, we were discussing the relentless rains this winter in Cascadia and wondering if it was a record (days of rain? Inches of rain? Days without sun? etc.) So the staff decided to do some digging and compiled what we’ve found in this week’s weekend reading. Seattle has had few … Read more
Alan More about groupthink (the inverse of the wisdom in crowds) from Nate Silver on the media during the US election; Andrew Sullivan on campus liberal orthodoxy (and its conservative mirror in Washington, DC); Van Jones on the same (video); Sara Lynn Michener on social-justice-warriors online and Julie Beck on facts themselves. Kristin Rebecca Solnit … Read more
Kelsey Over dinner the other night, one of my friends proclaimed, “I’m currently at war with my cell phone.” I immediately laughed this off as another one of his hyperboles and took the light rail home, watching nearly all my fellow passengers frown into the blue-light of their screens. Soon after, I ran across this … Read more
Serena Former Grist staff writer Brentin Mock (now with CityLab) wrote an excellent article for Outside Magazine on the imperative for traditional green organizations to adopt racial justice as a central priority to their work. Doing so, he argues, is the only way to right these groups’ racist legacy and to remain relevant and powerful … Read more
Migee My son is two-and-a-half years old and very inquisitive. Lately, he’s been talking about and asking about death. It started with the knowledge that his dad’s cat had died and me having to explain to him what “died” meant. He said it so matter-of-factly one time right in front of his dad, it was … Read more
Anna Don’t stand between a baby and its mama. This mantra goes for wild animals, of course—polar bears come to mind; don’t mess with them—but humans too as it turns out. Here’s an excellent snapshot of the many powerful ways moms—and women in general—are motivated and activated around climate protections. Speaking of mamas and their … Read more
Eric Sage advice for left-leaning policy folks: when it comes to benefits and entitlements, keep it simple and take credit. Jack Meserve argues that, “either Democrats complicate their initiatives enough to be inscrutable to anyone who doesn’t love reading hours of explainers on public policy, or else they don’t take credit for the few simple … Read more