Recently I declared a particularly pleasant, sunny day to be a “Day of Enjoyment”. I decided not to think very much about global problems: the “polycrisis” of climate, biodiversity loss, senseless wars, terrible political leaders and the like. I listened to birdsong. Messed around in the garden. Watched grebes parenting their young in the local … Continue reading The Art of Looking Away
Writing
Writing about writing, and writing of my own that is not about sustainability
“I will write if I survive”: An evening with Ukrainian author Alina Sarnatska
How much do you know about what it’s like to be a writer in Ukraine? Nothing? Then you are like me — before last night. Recently, I became a member of the Swedish Writers’ Union (SWU), and I immediately began receiving emails to interesting events, including an invitation to a talk and mingle with Ukrainian … Continue reading “I will write if I survive”: An evening with Ukrainian author Alina Sarnatska
I Joined the Swedish Writers Union
I write primarily in my mother tongue, English. So why was it important to me to join the Swedish Writers Union? And, once admitted, why did it feel like an honor? My written Swedish is quite fluent, but it is “bureaucrat Swedish,” honed by years working as a consultant or as a director in a … Continue reading I Joined the Swedish Writers Union
“A Lifetime of Rejoicing”: Remembering Donella Meadows
On the 13th of March, 2026, Donella “Dana” Meadows might have been celebrating her 85th birthday. But Dana passed away exactly 25 years ago (plus a few weeks). Not quite 60 years old at the time, she was taken in the full flower of her career by a sudden bacterial illness. The randomness of her … Continue reading “A Lifetime of Rejoicing”: Remembering Donella Meadows
After the Shock Fades
What happens after our shock fades? That was the question asked by an old friend and colleague of mine, Robin DiAngelo, and her writing partner Delta Shelby Larkey in an opinion article published in the Minnesota Star Tribune a few weeks ago. For those of us who count as ordinary people, and who were glued … Continue reading After the Shock Fades
Dear Santa Claus: So Sorry About the North Pole (2025 edition)
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)
A song of melancholy and last-chance hope: Why I wrote “The Last Dice”
In September 2011, I found myself unexpectedly wandering the streets of Istanbul. I say “unexpectedly” because there was revolution in Syria, a growing social uprising that would eventually ignite an all-consuming civil war. Security concerns had made going back to the city of Aleppo, which is where I had expected to be, impossible. Click to … Continue reading A song of melancholy and last-chance hope: Why I wrote “The Last Dice”
I got sick and rediscovered Paul Simon
Fever, chills, and all the frills – that’s what it took to get me to watch the two-part documentary “In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon” (highly recommended). My own restless dreams were of the feverish variety, lacking any sense or plot. Watching this masterful history of a phenomenally gifted songwriter, during short moments … Continue reading I got sick and rediscovered Paul Simon
Third-Age Thoughts
Initial reflections after a long professional career in public service for sustainability On January 1, 2025, I woke up to the reality that I was actually and truly retired. I have no professional position, no company or business to maintain, no formal work responsibilities, at all. I am living on my income from a modest … Continue reading Third-Age Thoughts
Why I am a stubborn optimist
Issue #10 of my personal newsletter, Words & Music My North Star platform at the Greenbiz.com website is no more. But they still publish columns by me when i send them. You can see the whole archive here. Maybe this column will be my last one -- I have been writing columns for a long … Continue reading Why I am a stubborn optimist
Alan AtKisson 