The Right Question

#100 September 2017/Column/The Right Question

The Buying Game

‘Shop Local’ isn’t just a slogan. Our survival depends on it. Illustration by Jameela Wahlgren Question: Why should I “Buy Fresh, Buy Local”? The Right Question: What is a local economy, anyway? Most of us tend to think of “the economy” as the process of exchanging our money for goods and services, and of receiving

August 31, 2017

3 mins read

#099.5 August 2017/Column/The Right Question

Embrace your natural-born omnivorism. But leave the factory farms behind.

Illustration by Natalie T. McGarvey Back to the Land by Jerry Silberman Question: Is vegetarianism the right thing to do? The Right Question: Is vegetarianism breaking the chain of life? Voluntary vegetarianism is a relatively recent phenomenon in human society. One of its principal rationales is moral, and insists that killing animals for food is

August 3, 2017

3 mins read

#099 July 2017/Column/The Right Question

Switching to renewables isn’t enough to save us. We must slow down—and change our values.

Illustration by Abayomi Louard-Moore The Keys to the Future by Jerry Silberman Editor’s note: This is Part Four of a series that concludes this month. In the last three columns we have outlined the dynamics of energy use in our society. We know that the release of huge quantities of solar energy stored in carbon

June 28, 2017

3 mins read

#098 June 2017/Column/The Right Question

Fossil fuels are still the low-hanging fruit of energy sources

Illustration by Abayomi Louard-Moore The Energy Bottom Line by Jerry Silberman Editor’s note: This is Part Three of a series that concludes in July. Question: Which kind of energy is the most efficient?The Right Question: How much energy does it take to get energy? The most important aspect of energy that most people have never

May 31, 2017

3 mins read

#097 May 2017/Column/The Right Question

Wind and solar power are still dependent on fossil fuels

Blowin’ in the Wind by Jerry Silberman Question: How much of the energy we use comes from fossil fuels?The Right Question: How much of the energy we use is dependent on fossil fuels? Last month we identified the sources of energy that make our high-technology civilization possible. What it really comes down to is fossilized

April 26, 2017

2 mins read

#096 April 2017/Column/The Right Question

The Right Question: It’s Time for a Little Physics 101

Illustration by Jameela Wahlgren Stop Confusing Energy with Electricity by Jerry Silberman Question: Can we run our entire society on solar energy?The Right Question: Which kind of solar energy would you like? Right now, more than 90 percent of all of our energy needs are powered by the sun, so we can answer the first

March 29, 2017

3 mins read

#095 March 2017/Column/The Right Question

The period of ‘American greatness’ is gone. Let’s focus on thriving instead.

Illustration by Kailey Whitman Getting Over Being Great by Jerry Silberman Question: Can America ever be great again? The Right Question: Why would we want to? Two months ago in this column I pointed out why Donald Trump, like every president since Reagan, will be unable to reverse the decline of the United States economy

March 1, 2017

3 mins read

#094 February 2017/Column/The Right Question

Hero-worship of entrepreneurs won’t build sustainable communities

Illustration by Nicholas Massarelli Caveat Emptor by Jerry Silberman Question: Is social entrepreneurship a way to build a sustainable society?The Right Question: Can any entrepreneur really be expected or trusted to dothe right thing when the going gets tough? The term “entrepreneur” has a newly minted positive cachet in our society, the result of a

February 1, 2017

3 mins read

#093 January 2017/Column/The Right Question

Worried about who is in the White House? Don’t be

Illustration by Layla Ehsan Meet the New Boss by Jerry Silberman Question: Will President-elect Donald Trump change the direction of the country?The Right Question: How much influence does a president actually have? In reality, not much. The political tenor of this, or any country—as well as its economic success or failure—operates in response to systemic

December 29, 2016

3 mins read

Column/The Right Question

Developing a strong community can help keep us well

Illustration by Nicholas Massarelli You Can’t Buy Health by Jerry Silberman Question: What does it mean for me to be healthy?The Right Question: Can I be healthy without a healthy community? I suspect that we have an inborn ability to recognize good health in another person when we see it—and that our perception of beauty

November 30, 2016

3 mins read

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