“The laws of Congress and the laws of physics have grown increasingly divergent, and the laws of physics are not likely to yield.”

If I thought that I was doing it myself, the hole would close up and no power could come through. Then everything I could do would be foolish.

I’ve always been opposed to population control. In climate terms, population is not the biggest problem going forward.

The purpose of meditation is to awaken in us the sky-like nature of mind, and to introduce us to that which we really are, our unchanging pure awareness, which underlies the whole of life and death

I like the moment when I break a man’s ego.

Oil companies are radical because they’re willing to alter the chemical composition of the atmosphere.

In the last two years 24 countries have set new all-time temperature records. We’ve seen flooding on an epic scale in every continent .

We have much more in common with other people than we have apart.

I’m a statistic in a system that a civil servant dominates.

What would be better for us to believe!’ This sounds very like a definition of truth

We also have to engage – and I think this is important – in national politics because there is no way to address questions of this scale in the short time that we have to address them without engaging in real political change.

Climate change is a huge problem, an almost insoluble problem.

We have to transition to new technologies, making it more expensive to continue with the old and polluting technologies and cheaper to go to the clean ones.

There is an urgent need to stop subsidizing the fossil fuel industry, dramatically reduce wasted energy, and significantly shift our power supplies from oil, coal, and natural gas to wind, solar, geothermal, and other renewable energy sources.

If it’s wrong to wreck the planet, it’s wrong to profit from the wreckage.

If the Holy Spirit is capable of the heavy lifting required to get Pat Robertson to change his mind, then that strikes me as a very good sign.

Where people aren’t as deeply reliant on fossil fuel as in the United States, it’s far easier for them to imagine change on this scale. When you go to Europe, they’re much more ready. They use half the amount of energy per capita that we use. They can imagine using less than that. They see the benefits. They’re ready to go.

But that would put me on a path that would make me totally divergent from who I am. I don’t have to go through the heartache many other people go through, of figuring out what makes them “wealthy.” I know what brings me joy.

What most interests me is human connection, whether it’s on the street, in community, through music, storytelling, and shared experience. People tell me to be a rock cellist, make money, and give up on the activism so I can make more money.

We each appear to hold within ourselves a range of divergent views as to our native qualities.. And amid such uncertainty, we typically turn to the wider world to settle the question of our significance.. we seem beholden to affections of others to endure ourselves.

When you put off a task, you buy yourself time to engage in divergent thinking rather than foreclosing on one particular idea.