Dave Pollard retired from paid work in 2010, after 35 years as an advisor to small enterprises, with a focus on sustainability, innovation, and understanding complexity. He is a long-time student of our culture and its systems, of history and of how the world really works, and has authored the blog How to Save the World for over twelve years. His book Finding the Sweet Spot: The Natural Entrepreneur’s Guide to Responsible, Sustainable, Joyful Work, was published by Chelsea Green in 2008. He is one of the authors of Group Works: A Pattern Language for Bringing Life to Meetings and Other Gatherings, published in 2012. He is a member of the international Transition movement, the Communities movement and the Sharing Economy movement, and is a regular writer for the deep ecology magazine Shift. He is working on a collection of short stories about the world two millennia from now. He lives on Bowen Island, Canada.
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Humanity’s Six Foundational Technologies
Consider the staggering impact that the invention of cordage and textiles has had on human development. Hank Green has added them to his list of the ‘foundational’ technologies of our species. (Plus a note on the use of AI.)
December 22, 2025
How Do We Teach the Critical Skills Needed to Face Collapse?
As the Joseph Campbell quote at the top of this article suggests, we will have to start the collective process by appreciating that no one is going to ‘fix’ the predicament of collapse for us, and that it cannot be fixed, only adapted to.
October 14, 2022
Nostalgic for 2019
The zeal of the media for a return to life as it was in 2019 is a form of instant nostalgia. Nostalgia is longing for an idealized time in the past that never actually was.
March 13, 2021
Cultural Acedia: When We Can No Longer Care
You probably haven’t heard of the term acedia used, and it has several definitions, so I’ll start by defining it. It is a disillusioned detachment, disengagement or dissociation that stems from an incapacity to cope with the realities of the moment.
July 19, 2018
The Power of Pattern Languages
Why are most meetings, conferences and other deliberative processes so bad?
May 29, 2015
Systems Thinking and Complexity 101
Many of the issues we deal with in our lives involve both complicated and complex systems, and hence have both complicated and complex aspects that need to be teased apart.
June 18, 2014
