Social

Underestimating random acts of kindness

What was the last random act of kindness you were involved in? Was it something you did for someone else or something someone else did for you? Have you ever wondered how much that random act was appreciated? Based on new research by Kumar and Epley (2022), we tend to underestimate the positive impact our … Continue reading →

Share a meal

Sustainability is Social and Cultural

The third in the series of audio posts, created for an Introductory Sustainability course and to discuss what sustainability is. Have you ever thought about how the place you grew up affected you later in your life? What messages did you receive from the places you experienced? Was where you lived or spent time focused … Continue reading →

Trying to find enough

When I used to talk to kids about burrowing owls I couldn’t help but talk about the relationship between the owls and farmers. I would talk about how they were both trying to make their way in the world, working to meet their own needs and this brought them into conflict with each other as … Continue reading →

A week for action on climate change

On Tuesday the United Nations is hosting Climate Summit 2014 in New York. It is supposed to be a chance for world leaders to lay some groundwork before a conference in 2015 which aims to create legally-binding climate change regulations. Today, many cities around the world have seen Climate Marches, in which people show their … Continue reading →

Getting there faster costs more

I’m pretty green when I am commuting: I bike a lot and I use public transit. But in this automobile driven country, I do own a car, and I use it. This morning I watched a video of travelling along a cycling highway between two cities in the Netherlands that are connected by a cycling … Continue reading →

Sustainability inspired by a September snow storm in Alberta

So two days ago I was at the Penticton Dragon Boat Festival lounging around in 28°C (82°F). Driving home through Banff National Park and Calgary we saw this: Although, every climate change aficionado will tell you that it is very difficult (i.e. impossible) to attribute a single weather event to climate change, extreme or non … Continue reading →

Who do you learn from?

I used to work with a sulfur crested cockatoo named Sydney. He and I had a great relationship, I would take him travelling to schools. We would sit together in an empty classroom at lunch and share some memories and some peapods. When I walked into the room where he lived he would always come … Continue reading →