Peter Kalmus

Climate scientist and activist Peter Kalmus sits for an interview with Post Carbon Institute’s program director, Rob Dietz. Peter covers how his scientific understanding has changed his life, explores the difference between climate anxiety and climate grief, discusses the ins and outs of civil disobedience and getting arrested, and describes a hopeful pathway for responding to the climate emergency.

Climate scientist and activist Peter Kalmus returns to Crazy Town, but this time with a green badge of courage. Earlier this year, he locked himself to the entrance of the JP Morgan Chase building in downtown Los Angeles to protest their ongoing investment in the fossil fuel industry.

That’s according to Peter Kalmus, an atmospheric scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in California. Alarmed by drastic changes in the Earth’s climate systems, Kalmus, embarked on a journey to change his life and the world in the process. He cut his carbon footprint by 90 percent.

The PA is a 110-acre homestead run by Ethan and Sarah Hughes, who have two young daughters. Their reliance on fossil fuels is limited to trains for long-distance trips, municipal water, and a telephone landline. They purchase bike parts, bulk grains, and tin roofing, as needed—but that’s about it. No electricity, no gas, no cars, no planes.

This book explores a lot of territory. It discusses climate science, climate policy, and aquifer depletion — as well as mythology, meditation, and beekeeping. These and other topics herein have been written about in greater detail elsewhere. There are entire volumes devoted to backyard chickens. So why mention them here, in a book with “climate” in its title?

The film “Bikes vs Cars” tells us that bicycling for transportation can reduce our emissions. But more importantly, bicycling can change our mindset.