How Peruvian boobies and other gross things helped spark an agricultural revolution that continues to this day. — Every time humanity reaches the limits of growth, we find a new way to blow right past them. We seem to remember a time not too long ago when farming was pure, natural, more… environmentally friendly. But it wasn’t. No one alive today could remember that time. …

We all think we know how government works, then we undermine it every day. Government has only three responsibilities: support the poor, regulate the rich, maintain the commons. Failure to do even one of these means collapse of the state. In order to achieve this, government must collect taxes and manage that income. The correct way to do this is to save money when the economy is good and distribute money when the economy is bad…

If you thought trees are a renewable resource, something we can use to substitute our fossil fuel obsession, think again. — Why is everyone talking about trees? As you research climate change mitigation, you find solutions that involve trees. Over and over again, journalists, environmentalists and scientists discover ways in which trees can replace…

What looks like a small win may make a big difference. Replacing gas in commercial kitchens is the next fruit up. — When we talk about solving climate change, we tend to focus on the big items — coal fired power plants, transportation, industry. The real horror of climate change research is that the everyday tools around us are leading us down the same path. You might drive an electric car and…

The economic principle behind carbon credits failed in 1865. — For the last few decades there’s been a push for energy efficiency. Energy efficiency was meant to be a stopgap, a way for the world to slow down climate change until replacements for fossil fuels reached parity. …

Our normalization of this tool is a danger to us all — Imagine a friend of yours tells you the following story: The Driving Range “So I took my car out to the track this weekend. Man, was it fun. They had paper targets set up on the track, and I hit them all. Even at high speeds, I was able to smash the prams…

Replacing our fossil fuel emissions is the most direct way to solve climate change. — I recently started writing for the new podcast “Replace, Remove, Recover”. While only a few episodes have been released, I’m finding it a powerful way to rethink our solutions to climate change. If you’ve ever felt like there are no clear guides on how to stop climate change, if you’re…

Understanding the scale of this disparity changes the way you understand the male-female dynamic — My partner and I have the kind of frank discussions about sexuality that more men and women need to have. When I describe what men think and feel, she frequently says, “Really? I never knew that.” She is easily the smartest person I know, so what surprises her surprises me. …

If you worry The Ministry for the Future might happen to you, read on. In the harrowing first chapter of Kim Stanley Robinson’s The Ministry for the Future, a heat wave hits India, causing a power outage. Without air conditioning, the residents of an entire state suffer from hyperthermia. Unable…