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I built a wooden kayak last year. This past weekend I paddled 120 km with it down a river. This makes sense to me. I built it, I used it. But apparently this is not always the response. A lot of people build the boat and then don’t use it because it is too nice. … Continue reading
I have been listening to The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee over the past several weeks. I picked it up after hearing McGhee give a keynote at a sustainability conference last year. Despite this, I was surprised at how prominent the connections to sustainability are in the book. The range of topics McGhee covers … Continue reading
I know of an organization that consistently asks why they don’t have more women participate in their events. Someone suggested providing child care. The idea was rejected by the (mostly male) board of directors because “why would that make a difference?” An organization’s board of directors plays a huge role in setting the direction of … Continue reading
I’ve wondered before if all the trees that get planted in the name of saving the planet are actually saving the planet. I mean I question anything that gets used as a one size fits all and trees seem to often fall into that category. Fagan et al (2022) set out to see how many … Continue reading
What are your beliefs about aptitude? Can someone who isn’t naturally skilled at math learn and improve and reach the same level of expertise or even surpass someone who has a natural aptitude through time and commitment? What about time management, if someone submits an assignment a day late because they had to pick up … Continue reading
I don’t deal well with general anaesthetic. And unfortunately, I’ve had enough opportunity to experience it that I know what alternatives work best for me. It turns out, at least in the hospitals where I’ve had surgery, that they put you to sleep with intravenous anaesthesia but then switch you onto gas. I know this … Continue reading
Carbon taxes? Nope, not what this blog is about. This one is about a new study by Lee and Winterich (2022) that found that when unsustainable goods like individually wrapped foods are more expensive, wealthy people felt more entitled to them and were more likely to make the purchase. That’s right, charge more and you’re … Continue reading
When we had an abnormal heat wave last year I lost sleep, as many others I talked to did as well. It made perfect sense then when I saw the article by Minor et al. (2022) that predicts that climate change will impact people’s sleep globally. Lack of sleep has been linked with many health … Continue reading
You read that right, and no this is no get rich quick scheme. Air pollution from energy related industries in the US contributes to heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, and respiratory illness. Medical treatment of these conditions costs $600 billion annually and the conditions contribute to the deaths of 50,000 people. Mailloux et al (2022) … Continue reading
Well, we don’t actually know. There’s a problem in a lot of research. We study who we have access to and forget that might not be representative of the broader world. Don’t get me wrong, efforts are often made to ensure generalizability but too often we overlook the lack of diversity completely. For example, I … Continue reading
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