Diamond-Cut Life

I’m looking today at a confluence of one of my favorite sports — running — and a worthy pursuit that I have done in the past — fundraising. An energetic woman named Linda Quirk at Run 7 On 7 is leading 300 others in running seven marathons on seven continents and raising pledges to [...]

[Read more →]

I got up before dawn this morning and went running at first light in Mount Tabor Park, near our house. Near a 100-foot tall Douglas Fir tree, I heard unusual scrabbling noises, so I stopped in my tracks to investigate.
I saw an adult raccoon spreadeagled on the tree at about waist height, looking over its [...]

[Read more →]

Ewan O’Leary, the founder of the carbon offset company Little Carbon Feet, wrote the below (in italics) in response to my and Brandt Smith’s dialogue on Rethinking the Entitlement of Travel. I agree with Ewan that we’re in a lifeboat (emergency) situation with needing to reduce our carbon emissions — hence the title “Paddling the [...]

[Read more →]

The following is a guest post by Jim Meyer. Diamond-Cut Life welcomes your topical submissions. If you would like to write a guest post, please contact us.

Let’s get frank about the current pressures on the US lifestyle and environment as it’s been constructed up to now: A lot of people are getting [...]

[Read more →]

Short post this morning on the deaths of many retail stores recently in the U.S. First, I really feel for the people who are losing their jobs, and in many cases, their retail businesses. This is painful and scary for them, and I wish stability for all the people affected.
In the bigger picture, the [...]

[Read more →]

I posted my thoughts on Bear Stearns right after it collapsed. But a deeper problem even than the money-drunk nature of our culture is the way we count.

Our economic system hasn’t yet learned how to count in a way that reflects reality. Natural systems like air, soil and water (also known as the primary world) are holding up our whole civilization. Our economy is predicated on them

[Read more →]

I am happy to learn this morning that Pierce County in Washington is protecting its rich farmland in the Puyallup Valley from developers.

Why? I’ll get really basic. The land has already been developed. It was logged many years ago and converted into farmland. Farmland is its highest, most brilliant and diamond-cut use. The Pacific Northwest soils are so fertile they support more biomass than any other soil

[Read more →]

This past Saturday night we went to the Bicycle Transportation Alliance’s (BTA’s) annual awards dinner and auction, attended by about 800 people. It’s called Alice B. Toeclips and it was invented about a decade ago by my awesome friend and mentor Karen Frost, the founding director of the BTA.

I had good conversations with great people at Toeclips, and just one reservation I’ll get to in a minute

[Read more →]

Don’t get me wrong; I think Craigslist is cool. But I’ve recently learned from the Business of Green blog about CRAGs, which I think are even cooler.

CRAGs are Carbon Rationing Action Groups, active mostly in the United Kingdom, so far. People join to become mutually supportive and accountable about lightening their carbon footprint.

Why do I find this so relevant? All my experience tells me that it’s only when

[Read more →]

When I was on Amtrak’s Empire Builder train heading east to Glacier last fall, I met a friendly mortgage broker in the lounge car as we clackety-clacked through the Gorge. We chatted (a longtime habit of mine).

“My industry made loans to people who were in no way ready to buy a house,” she said. “It’s not ethical. You should form a relationship with people who can’t yet

[Read more →]