New Book Chapter: Varieties of Eco-Social Contracts in Japanese Ecovillages and Coliving-Coworking Arrangements

An open-access book, Eco-Social Contracts for Sustainable and Just Futures edited by Patrick Huntjens, Najma Mohamed, Katja Hujo, Manisha Desai was just published, including a chapter Varieties of Eco-Social Contracts in Japanese Ecovillages and Coliving-Coworking...

Right Relation with Tobacco: Decommercialization and Reverence

New article out in Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science exploring the most controversial plant on Earth. The paradox: Tobacco kills 8+ million people yearly through cigarettes. Yet for Indigenous peoples, it’s sacred — a messenger plant, vehicle of prayer,...

The Wrong Way to Photograph Climate Change

The images of these November 2025 floods in South East Asia show so starkly the total waste of whatever reasoning allows us to continue global warming. The economy isn’t getting better. People aren’t getting healthier or happier. We are trashing our planet...

Sacred Bears and Profane Cats: Rethinking Japan’s Wildlife Crisis Through Terror Management Theory

Introduction: The Paradox of Fear and Death in Contemporary Japan In 2023, Japan witnessed an unprecedented 219 bear attacks, resulting in six human fatalities. The media response was immediate and visceral—front-page stories, emergency government meetings, and calls...

Talk: 9 April, 2025 on Exporting Suffering: The Flower Industry at Home and Abroad

Everyone loves flowers. They brighten our day. They remind us of the beauty of life, and they are ephemeral, a memento mori of sorts to reflect upon our own mortality. But in the past half-century, the presence of flowers has moved from local to global markets, from...

Ecocide as Semiocide: The Demise of Nature and Its Impact on Meaning

2 May 2024 talk at Utrecht University I’m excited to be giving a talk at Utrecht University’s Ecocide Interdisciplinarity Series Talks for Justice. Part of their Conceptualizing Ecocide project, they get that if we wish to actually create a solid Path to...