Executive Director

Consider this simple arithmetic: The International Livestock Research Institute reports that 45% of the land area of the planet is used for livestock production. We also know that the top 20% of consumers are eating most of the livestock products (overall, the top 20% are responsible for 83% of all consumption). The main reason is the ethic embodied in the 99c hamburger at McDonalds, which is made possible thanks to massive US taxpayer subsidies for beef production.

Now, imagine that…

On the cover of the book, Carbon Dharma, adorns this photograph that I took in December of 2008. It is the photograph of a fence enclosing the protected common land of the village of Karech in Rajasthan, India. To the left of the fence, livestock is allowed to graze and the land is barren, devoid of vegetation, except for the occasional scraggly tree or bush. To the right of the fence, the protected common land is lush green and has regenerated into a forest.…

Imagine going to a family party where you are the only non-smoker. The room is filled with smoke as everyone around you is puffing away at their pipes, cigars and cigarettes. The smoke gets in your clothes, your hair, your lungs and you feel like you are suffocating, but you don't want to leave because you love these people even as they behave like chimneys. Your host suggests that since you are the only exception in the family party, you might as well light up and offers you a…

Adapted from "Carbon Dharma: The Occupation of Butterflies."

Three centuries ago, Voltaire said, "As long as people believe in absurdities, they will continue to commit atrocities." Since human beings, with a few pathological exceptions, act according to their Dharma and truly believe that they are performing the right actions at all times, a corollary to Voltaire's statement is that every atrocity committed by humans…

The official Durban Platform for Enhanced Action is a formula for punting all climate change policy actions down the road until 2020. The International Energy Agency (IEA) and the scientific community tell us that we really don't have that luxury and must make drastic changes in our energy usage patterns…