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Author Archives: Keith Akers
Who’s Afraid of the Fiscal Cliff?
Everybody agrees the U. S. national debt is too high, but no one can agree on what to do about it. Raise taxes, or cut spending, or both? So Congress decided to kick the can down the road one last … Continue reading
Why Does Whole Foods Sell Meat?
(Hint: It has something to do with the economic system) James McWilliams recently (September 4) wrote an open letter to Whole Foods asking them to close their meat counters. This is noteworthy because John Mackey, their CEO, is himself a … Continue reading
Aside
Karen King’s draft paper on Jesus’ wife, and the Harvard Divinity School’s web site on the subject, both have a minor grammatical problem: the English title given to the gospel fragment. They style it as The Gospel of Jesus’s Wife, … Continue reading
This Just In: Jesus was Married!
Karen King, a Harvard Divinity School scholar whom I greatly respect, has submitted a draft of an article for the Harvard Theological Review discussing a Coptic gospel fragment which refers to Jesus having a wife. This is now all over … Continue reading
Passive House Politics Getting Complicated
The “passive house” concept is taking off. This is a new way of building homes that reduces the energy required for their maintenance by an amazing 90% from the standard construction. This way of constructing buildings is essential if we … Continue reading
Posted in Ecological Economics, Simple living, Urban Life
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What is it with Buddhists and the First Precept?
The first precept of Buddhism is variously cited as “abstaining from taking life,” “not taking the life of any sentient creature,” or “not killing.” Buddhist groups seem to agree that the life which we are not to kill includes animals … Continue reading
Status
I am honored to have been invited to speak to the World Vegetarian Congress in San Francisco, which goes from October 5 to October 8. I’ll be speaking on: “Vegetarianism and Christianity: Why Don’t they Mix?” The talk will be … Continue reading
Save Chatfield State Park
Kate and I recently visited Chatfield State Park, less than 25 miles from downtown Denver, on our bicycles. It’s home to a lot of wildlife, woodlands, and wetland; its residents include deer, elk, porcupines, beaver, and 350 species of resident … Continue reading
Politics and the Environmental Crisis
Hundreds of millions of dollars are being poured into the political campaigns, and the networks are deluging us with stories about the U. S. presidential campaign. Yet the most critical issue of our time, the environment, is getting zero attention. … Continue reading
Does Digitization Decrease Empathy?
James McWilliams recently asked whether the digitization of communications decreases empathy, and thus potentially our empathy with other humans and animals. He talks about e-mail between students and professors, “butchered” grammar in e-mail being used to substitute for the student … Continue reading
Posted in Ecological Economics, History, Urban Life
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