MOGO Hero: Lynn Henning

Posted on April 30, 2010 by zoeweil

I’m going to start a new theme in my blog posts – MOGO Hero. Periodically, I’ll highlight a modern-day, ordinary hero whose efforts do the most good (MOGO). Today, I’m beginning with Lynn Henning, a Michigan woman who just won the 2010 Goldman Environmental Prize for North America for her work to fight CAFOs in [...]

Filed under: changemakers, citizen activism, courage, Environmental Preservation, food and diet, heroes, systemic change | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Merit Pay for Great Teachers – Good or Bad Idea?

Posted on April 28, 2010 by zoeweil

I subscribe to Dan Pink’s newsletter. Dan is the author of the excellent book, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, and in his newsletter he sometimes responds to one of the myriad questions he receives about how to apply Drive to different realms of life. In his most recent newsletter he responds to [...]

Filed under: education, social psychology, systemic change, third side thinking | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Moving Forward Toward a Sustainable World

Posted on April 26, 2010 by zoeweil

Among some environmentalists, there is a strong anti-civilization movement and the belief that the only hope for a sustainable world entails a return to a veritable Stone Age, a time when humans had neither the capacity, the desire, nor the wherewithal to create havoc within ecosystems, cause the extinction of myriad species, and utterly despoil [...]

Filed under: economy, Environmental Preservation, humane education, responsibility, systemic change | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Dyeing One’s Hair…Gray?

Posted on April 23, 2010 by zoeweil

When I was younger I was certain I would never dye my hair when I began to gray. After all, I already eschewed shaving and managed to stand tall (well, as tall as I could at 5’1”) even in a bathing suit surrounded by women who shaved every bit of hair they were told to [...]

Filed under: consumerism, Cultural Issues, habits, MOGO (Most Good) | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

Eco-tours, Labels, and the Power of Sleuthing

Posted on April 21, 2010 by zoeweil

Several years ago, following a conference in Florida where I was the keynote speaker talking about humane education, I was invited to participate in an eco-tour through the Everglades. Since the conference organizers planned the eco-tour and were humane educators themselves, I felt confident that our tour would be, as described, ecologically friendly. Sadly, it [...]

Filed under: accurate information, animal protection, critical thinking, Environmental Preservation, MOGO (Most Good), values | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

The Heroic Trend Bodes Well for Our Future

Posted on April 19, 2010 by zoeweil

Take a look at this video: What’s happening here? In a cynical and angry era, with the specter of terrorism, the rise of neo-Nazis and other hate-based groups, greed-induced corruption in business, and extremist media personalities spewing more and more venom, there’s a youth heroism movement that’s gaining momentum, and I believe it will be [...]

Filed under: changemakers, humane education, systemic change, youth activism | Tagged: , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Moral Behavior Doesn’t Depend on Religion: Sam Harris’s “Science Can Answer Moral Questions”

Posted on April 16, 2010 by zoeweil

I just watched a new TED talk given by author Sam Harris, titled, “Science Can Answer Moral Questions.” I recommend watching it and considering his (to my mind reasonable, to others quite provocative) perspective. When I was a freshman in college, a friend of a friend had gone off to travel the world. He wound [...]

Filed under: Cultural Issues, integrity, MOGO (Most Good), values | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Practical Wisdom aka Common Sense

Posted on April 14, 2010 by zoeweil

Take a look at this TED talk by Barry Schwartz on our loss of wisdom: It’s hard to know where to begin blogging about a talk that covers so much ground, and which offers great examples, stories, and humor about why we so desperately need to engage our practical wisdom (and cultivate it among our [...]

Filed under: critical thinking, Cultural Issues, social psychology, systemic change | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Driving a Nissan Cube – Assumptions & Judgments Revisited

Posted on April 12, 2010 by zoeweil

When I travel and need to rent a vehicle, I always opt for the economy car. I do this for two reasons. The economy car is normally small and relatively fuel efficient, and I want to keep costs low and have never seen a reason for anything but the least expensive rental. So it was [...]

Filed under: Cultural Issues, MOGO (Most Good), social psychology, values | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Discovering New Things in Old Places

Posted on April 9, 2010 by zoeweil

My husband and I decided to hike up a fairly familiar mountain with our dogs, but after we started on the trail, decided to do a detour on a side trail out to a pond we’d never explored. I felt ambivalent about our decision. Because of time constraints, it was possible we wouldn’t make it [...]

Filed under: habits, mindfulness, MOGO (Most Good) | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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