Archives
An Inflection Point and the Metamorphosis of Thought
The first Quartermaster’s Report, compiled by myself, was published in the book I wrote (This Spaceship Earth) with futurist David Houle. The second Quartermaster’s Report (QMR) was published in 2023 in the book (Now That You Know) researched and written by the team at This Spaceship Earth (the non-profit). The latest update of the […]
A Clear and Present Danger
To many, my desk is a cluttered mess or a jigsaw puzzle of disconnected pieces that can never be assembled into a coherent picture. To me, my desk is a highly organized panorama of easily accessible tools of my craft interspersed with remembrances and waypoints of travels, adventures, people, places, joys, sorrows, hopes, philosophies, beliefs […]
We Are All Earthlings
There is a scene early in the movie Top Gun: Maverick to which I am particularly sympathetic. It immediately follows the moment when Maverick (Tom Cruise) has tested an experimental aircraft past its breaking point. We then see Maverick walking into a small rural town, entering a diner and after drinking a glass of water […]
The Story Behind Kufunda – an African Learning Community
What follows is a transcript of an interview by my friend Christine Brauitgam of Maaianne Knuth, the founder of the Kufunda village in Zimbabwe. I edited the interview for length and clarity. You can listen to the entire interview here. – Bob Leonard Hello this is Christine Brautigam. I was a guest, volunteer, and […]
A Missive from Zimbabwe
My friend, Christine Brautigam, looking for meaningful work in this world, retired early from a corporate career and her own consulting firm. As part of the class of 2021, Christine attained an elementary school teaching license. Her latest venture is participating as a visiting teacher at the Kufunda Learning Village and Waldorf-inspired School 40 minutes outside […]
Welcome to the World of Punctuated Equilibrium
by Tim Rumage, Chief Science Officer, This Spaceship Earth and Planetary Ethicist In evolutionary biology, there are two primary pathways for organisms to adapt and evolve: one is gradualism, and the other is punctuated equilibrium. Gradualism is just that – slow incremental changes/variations over long periods of time. Punctuated equilibrium change is pulsed. There […]
The Moral Reckoning with Climate Change
We are now passing through a crucial period in the history of climate change: the fulcrum point where society’s attitudes toward it, and particularly the continued use of fossil fuels, are changing. Much has been written, here on Spaceship Earth as well as many other places, about the “Greta effect,” meaning the sudden increased public […]
