Update 17 Dec 2025: Times have changed, and I have realised that this article needs a short framing intro. Climate science is in trouble. Funding is being cut. Information is disappearing. To draw a little attention to this and other issues, I returned to a format I first introduced in 2003: a darkly humorous "Letter … Continue reading Dear Santa Claus: So Sorry About the North Pole (2025 edition)
Ecosystems and Biodiversity
Could learning to talk with whales change the world?
Stunning, world-changing news has been trying to click and trill its way through the chaotic cloud of media that serves as humanity’s proxy for global collective consciousness. Did you miss it? Don’t worry, I will fill you in. Mother and baby sperm whale. Whale babies babble, just like human babies, until their codas start settling … Continue reading Could learning to talk with whales change the world?
Save a Woodpecker, Save the Planet, Save Your Soul
I wrote this essay 13 years ago. One change: my daughters are a bit older now. The woodpeckers, however, have not changed a bit. First published 26 September 2005 on Worldchanging.com. Reprinted in Because We Believe in the Future: Collected Essays on Sustainability 1989-2009, by Alan AtKisson. Note: On Amazon.com, this book received a one-star … Continue reading Save a Woodpecker, Save the Planet, Save Your Soul
A mini-exhibit on plastic waste, in honor of “Out to Sea”
From my Instagram account ... Follow me there, http://instagram.com/alanatkisson This is all the the plastic garbage I collected from the beach today, on the island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea, in 45 minutes. I've arranged it as an Instagram square, for easy sharing. The "Out to Sea" exhibition we sponsored in Stockholm has closed … Continue reading A mini-exhibit on plastic waste, in honor of “Out to Sea”
Happy World Oceans Day … Seriously
From my personal Facebook page today: Dear Friends, As you know, lately I've been investing a lot of my time on raising ocean awareness (together with many thousands of other people). My firm sponsored the "Out to Sea" exhibit on ocean plastics (also known as the Plastic Garbage Project). We launched SDG14.net. I keynoted European … Continue reading Happy World Oceans Day … Seriously
Crowdfunding 1-week challenge: help sponsor this exhibition!
Dear friends: We need your help. I’ve never tried crowdfunding before, or asking for donations for a project. But now I am. I and my friends in Stockholm are mounting a major and powerful exhibition here, on the problem of plastic garbage in our seas. But we need your help, otherwise it just won’t happen. … Continue reading Crowdfunding 1-week challenge: help sponsor this exhibition!
In Sweden, corporate sponsors did not “show up”
This is the original Facebook post from Jan 9, 2017, that made us realize we should try crowdfunding for our exhibit on ocean plastic waste. UPDATE 25 JAN 2017: WE ARE HALF WAY THERE! THANKS TO SWEDISH, JAPANESE, USA AND OTHER SPONSORS. Can you help? Click here to read more and contribute ... [Translation of … Continue reading In Sweden, corporate sponsors did not “show up”
“Conservation” meets “Green Growth”: The Push-Me-Pull-You problem
Remember Dr. Dolittle? He was a vet who could talk to animals. One of the rarest was the "pushmi-pullyu," a llama with two heads (one head was where the tail ought to be). The pushmi-pullyu was a gentle creature that did not like to be stared at. And yet the other animals in Africa convinced … Continue reading “Conservation” meets “Green Growth”: The Push-Me-Pull-You problem
Wake Up: We Have a Long, Long Way to Go
Reprinted from Greenbiz.com, 16 Feb 2016 People like me — professional optimists in the field of sustainability — are fond of pointing out the positive. And lately there have been many positives to point out, such as the global adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on climate change. However, sometimes even … Continue reading Wake Up: We Have a Long, Long Way to Go
David Abrams: Breathing ourselves aware on planet “EAIRTH”
This is the second in my series of posts from the conference "Climate Existence 2010." The series began with a post on Bill McKibben's opening keynote. This one covers the afternoon keynote and the workshop I went to, which awakened some memories ... "We don't live on the Earth. We live in the Earth. Or … Continue reading David Abrams: Breathing ourselves aware on planet “EAIRTH”
Alan AtKisson 