JULY/AUGUST 2026:

I am spending July and August resting, reflecting ...and researching. 

That means diving into a diverse reading list as I consider how the habits and habitats we cultivate impact our capacity for adaptation.

My exploration continues...

RECENT FOOD FOR THOUGHT: 

💡Christopher Nolan's masterful film, The Odyssey. The final two sentences keep coming back to me:

"Civilization will rise again. Our mistakes will be forgotten."

💡This video from Plantist.org shook me by the shoulders. Moving, powerful, and artfully done.

💡 The themed-reading list on the Rebel Library website offers both fiction and non-fiction in a range of genres related to our predicament. I have been perusing the categories to find the ones I have missed.

💡Richard Powers´ sweeping and wonder-full novel, Playground

I loved his book, The Overstory, about forests. This one makes an absolute star of our oceans.

This NPR podcast interview of Powers by Ari Shapiro is excellent.

💡This beautiful question posed by Andrea Gibson: "How is this perfect?" 

My collapse-related version: "How is what is happening a gift to the world?" 

💡The free online courses and resources available on All Things Urban.

I just missed the first community meet-up here in Amsterdam, but look forward to getting involved and participating in the next one!

💡In preparation for presenting at the International Conference on Environmental Mindfulness in Rome in September, I am reading a pile of research papers.

Currently thinking about one on Environmental Behavior.

Title: Does Mindfulness Mediate the Relationship Between Emotion Regulation and Pro-Environmental Behaviors? (2024) 

SPOILER: Yes, but there are gender differences.

💡Celebrating this post by group-hang guru Priya Parker called 50 Ways To Gather Without Breaking the Bank.

Can´t wait for her forthcoming book, The Art of Fighting, about ways to practice disagreeing with each other in low-stakes ways. (She suggests starting with a Hot Takes theme: everyone attending a gathering has to come prepared with a one-minute defense of a stance on something relatively noninflammatory, like why winter is the best season or croissants are superior to any other form of bread.)

💡This fascinating Substack post by Dr. Jean Renouf titled Urban Collapse: What Cities Teach Us When Systems Fail. I especially appreciate the inclusion of Sarajevo and the unflagging determination of the people to meet in basements to continue with education, music, and theater despite the very real risk of being hit by snipers.

💡One of the best things about speaking at the World Adaptation Forum in Budapest in April was swapping asides during the presentations as I sat next to triple-scientist, fabulous gardener, and provocatively insightful author George Tsakraklides.  I am reading his latest book, The Biology of Collapse: Lessons From Nature On Growth, Power, Extinction, and Rebirth. Not for the faint of heart, but a riveting and unblinking assessment.

What are you learning and pondering right now?

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