I posted this a few days ago in a very different first draft called “CORRIDOR.” Since I have submitted this poem to a journal, I’m taking down the full draft. SOME MEN An old man is educed into the light and water corridors, He passes into being another being’s way of becoming a passage, borrowed … More SOME MEN

This November I’ll be giving this talk at Penn State Great Valley outside of Philly. I’m looking forward to putting the talk together and sharing my thoughts with you as I do it. All the stuff about motivated reasoning will be REALLY fun to get into. If you’ve been following me lately then you know … More Fouls, Buzzer Beaters, and the Battle over Climate Change

Yesterday I met David Gray, Senior VP of Finance and Business at Penn State, and Steve Maruszewski, Assistant VP for the Office of Physical Plant at Penn State. It was productive, collegial, and gives me some optimism. That’s not to say it lacked tension. But I think it was creative. [Since I didn’t go in … More Cautious optimism

Since it’s been a couple weeks since the joint meeting of the State College Borough Water Authority and the Ferguson Township Board of Supervisors, I want to make sure some things stay in the top of our minds. [Watch the session here.] There is an interesting metaphor that board chair Dick Mascolo used regarding development. … More Dismembering hydras and cultivating a field of wildflowers. Or my thoughts on the joint meeting of the SCBWA and Ferguson Board of Supervisors

I took a ride today around the shotgun pond in Scotia, State Game Lands #176. There’s almost nothing living in the pond but at its edges to the southwest. When I get down about the way things are going, how sometimes it feels like we are going to hell, this is a place where I … More Where to find the peace of wild things

The worried activist’s syllogism: Prolonged intense experiences lead to burnout. Being an activist engages people in prolonged intense experiences. Activism leads to burnout. Engaging in something intense for months with little respite nearly guarantees you will burn out. It doesn’t matter if it’s training for sporting events, writing a book, non-stop parenting, or running for … More A Reflection on Kindness, Hope, and Fierce Love in Service

What does it take to persist in the face of difficult circumstance, bounce back from a setback, or recover from a major blow? How did someone like Greg Lemond win Le Tour de France after he was shot? How do abused children become functional and contributing adults? How do communities recover from natural disasters or civic trauma? How does … More Resilience

As I wrote in my first post at Peter is in the Forest, I am inviting “you to reflect with me if you’d like. I share because I search for understanding. If you would like to understand, maybe you will join me from time to time.” I believe art is essential to good life. So … More Naming experience with #poetry. “CORRIDOR” A new #poem

Since I wrote about Illich, I want to nod to Wendell Berry whose thought and love inform a lot of what I do. I love “Why I am NOT going to buy a computer.” It makes so much sense and it’s just so damnably hard to live into. As Illich would say, we’ve become dependents … More Wendell Berry’s “Why I am NOT going to buy a computer”

The next few blogs are going to be free flowing on the idea of Penn State and sustainability and greenwashing. I’ll write about the impressions of the early years first. Then I’ll probably include some interview-type things with emails and conversations from some of the first sustainability champions at Penn State, and then move on … More Penn State and Greenwawashing Part 4: Founders and Critical Participation